
Pass/ /j/3dY ? 3 

Book PfS 

"403 



THE AUTHORS' HANDBOOK SERIES 

THE UNIVERSAL 
PLOT CATALOG 

AN EXAMINATION OF THE ELEMENTS OF PLOT MA- 
TERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION. COMBINED WITH A 
COMPLETE INDEX AND A PROGRESSIVE CATE- 
GORY IN WHICH THE SOURCE, LIFE AND 
END OF ALL DRAMATIC CONFUCT 
AND PLOT MATTER ARE 
CLASSIFIED 

MAKING THE WORK 

A PRACTICAL TREATISE 

For all Writers of Fiction and Drama, Prose and Verse ; also 

Editors, Orators, Teachers, Librarians, Newspaper 

Men, Statisticians and Preachers 

BY 

HENRY ALBERT PHILLIPS 

Author of "The Plot of the Short Story," "Art in Short Story Narration," 

"The Photodrama," and formerly Associate Editor 

of the Metropolitan Magazine 

INTRODUCTION BY 

HOMER CROY 

Author of "When to Lock the Stable," etc. 



THE STANHOPE-DODGE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

LARCHMONT, NEW YORK, U. S. A. 



TN33i5 






Copyright, 1916, by 
HENRY ALBERT PHILLIPS 



Stanbopc jpress 

F. H.GILSON COMPANY 
BOSTON, U.S.A. 

OEC -5 1916 



TO 
EDGAR ALLEN POE 

THE FIRST MAN OF LETTERS WITH THE GENIUS AND 

COURAGE INTELLIGENTLY TO ANALYZE. UTILIZE 

AND UNIVERSALIZE THE FICTION PLOT, 

THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

INTRODUCTION vii 

FOREWORD jri 

I.— THE NATURE OF PLOT MATERIAL ... 17 
Dramatic Expression; Plot Particles; the Ordi- 
nary and the Extraordinary; ABC of Plotting; 
Recognition; Emotional Core; Dramatic Frag- 
ments. 

II.— DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN PLOT MATE- 
RIAL AND COMPLETE PLOT 22 

A Confusion of Terms; Analogies in other Fields 
of Art; Law of Fiction Plot; the Sum of All the 
Parts. 

III.— THE RELATION OF PLOT TO LITERARY 

CONSTRUCTION 28 

Not Composition but Construction; Keystone of 
Intelligent Effort; Soul of Organic Matter; Rela- 
tion to Strategy; Non-Fiction Forms. 

IV.— COMMON SOURCES OF PLOT MATERIAL 35 
Plot Matter also Fiction Material; the Five Senses 
and Life; the Dramatic Ear and Eye; the Ficti- 
tious Mood and its Stimulants; What Constitutes 
Confidences; Stealing Plots or Stimulating Ideas; 
Books, Newspapers and Poetry; Phrases, Ex- 
cerpts, Pictures and Notes. 

V.— WHAT THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG IS 43 

Not a List of Actual Plots; Potential Rather than 
Existent; Chaos versus System; A Thesaurus, 
Ready Reference, Perpetual Stimulant, Sponta- 
v 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGB 

neous Collector and Efficient File; Eminently Use- 
ful for Editors, Orators, Teachers, Librarians, 
Newspaper Men, Statisticians, Preachers — as 
well as Writers of all Kinds. 

VI.— THE SCOPE OF THE CATALOG Si 

Man; his Vicissitudes and his Desires, his Rela- 
tionships and his Struggles; the Plot of the Plot 
Catalog; a Complete Cycle; the Line of Progres- 
sion; that which is Not Man; Ending with the 
Beginning. 

VII.— HOW TO USE THE PLOT CATALOG. ... 59 
A Practical Device, not a Theoretical Contrivance; 
the Automatic Plot Collector and File; How One 
may be Made; Filed According to the Predomi- 
nant Phase; How to Avoid Confusion; All Divi- 
sions are Potential; Practical Illustrations. 

VIII.— THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG (I.— The 

Grand Divisions) 71 

A Progressive Category of Man — his Vicissitudes, 
his Desires, his Relationships and his Struggles — 
in which All Dramatic Conflict and Plot Material 
in the Universe find their Source, Life and End. 

IX.— THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG (II.— In- 
cluding all Minor Divisions) 75 

Together with Starred References for Filing Plot 
Material. 

X.— A FICTION EXAMPLE ILLUSTRATING THE 

VALUE OF THE CATALOG 107 

M A Weaver of Dreams; " its Classification and An- 
alysis. 

XL— A COMPLETE INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 129 
Alphabetized with Cross References. 



vi 



INTRODUCTION 

AVERY great editor once told me some- 
thing that has always stuck in^my 
mind. It was just after I had come to New 
York from a small western town and, al- 
though I recognized the truth of what he 
said, I did not appreciate its depth. 

"A writer sells his first story on account 
of plot — after that technique has to pull him 
through/ ' 

I knew that he had said something, but it 
took me a long time fighting away at writing 
to realize the truth of his remark. Every 
person who has the cosmic urge in him that 
makes him put himself on paper in narrative 
form has a big story in him before he touches 
his pen. The author seizes his pen and what is 
in him flows out. He sends it out and it sells. 

But when he again feels the inward stirring 

and, seizing his parturient pen, writes his 

next story, the magazine can't see it. It 

comes back and comes back, to be cata- 

vii 



INTRODUCTION 

combed in a pigeonhole forever. The au- 
thor can't understand why his first story 
should sell and his next one scarcely get a 
personal letter. He moons around awhile 
and then goes back to the grocery. 

The reason is that the plot of his first 
story was big enough to sell regardless of 
technique. After that the author must tell 
a less moving tale and tell it more skilfully. 
He has to depend on the efficacy of his art. 
He has not yet mastered his art and as a 
result his postage is staggering. 

For his first story the author does not 
need anything but paper; after that he 
needs every help in the world that he can 
get. He has now entered the finest of the 
fine arts and must take advantage of every 
hint that he can get. If he does not some 
one else will; it is merely buttering his own 
bread. 

As a reader on magazines and as an editor 
I have found that ninety out of every hun- 
dred stories are sold on account of their plot. 

Now, after the young author has sold his 
first story, he is up against that old devil 
Plot. His first story has poured itself out 
viii 



INTRODUCTION 

and now he must find something to take 
the place of that first fine frenzy. He has 
not been writing long enough to sell by- 
technique alone, so plot must pull him 
through. But how to get it? That is the 
question; that is what makes one tumble 
and toss on the midnight ostermoor. 

Anybody who can help you run a plot to 
earth is a friend from on high. Get him by 
the coat tail. 

But the beauty of it is that you can learn 
to build plots. It is no simple matter — - 
not by a long shot! — but you can learn. 
It is all a question of whether you really 
want to learn or whether you are content to 
be a dabbler. It is a matter of paying the 
price. The first thing you have got to do 
is to get plot by the neck; but when you 
have got plot eating out of your hand, you 
have just about got your fingers on the laurel 
wreath. 

I figure that I wasted six years in learning 
how to sling ink. I began just exactly back- 
ward, with no one to tell me how. I first 
learned the art of the phrase; I could make 
words climb a pole, but I did not know a 
ix 



INTRODUCTION 

blessed thing in the world about plot. I 
could think of fine sounding words, but I 
could not do anything with them — I could 
not sell them. The reason was that I did 
not know how to dig up a plot. And it is 
only recently that I have learned how. If 
I had gone to work six years before learning 
how to build plots instead of stewing around 
over French phrases and Latin subjunctives, 
I might now be riding in a twin-six instead 
of having to flag street cars. 

Homer Croy. 



All the Fine Arts serve their tedious 
apprenticeships — Painting has its 
drawing and color-mixing; Sculp- 
ture its modelling and measuring; 
Architecture its draughtsmanship and 
mathematics; Music its exercises and 
counterpoint. Why except Literature? 

FOREWORD 

TN no other dignified modern profession 
■*■ do its members just seem to "hap- 
pen" — excepting Literature. In Painting 
or in Music; in Law or in the Ministry; 
in Carpentering or in Steamfitting — one 
must serve an apprenticeship of painstaking 
study of theory and daily practical exercises. 
The apprentice familiarizes himself with the 
tools and learns how to use them. He 
solves problems and prepares formulas; 
he probes fallacies and progresses in wisdom. 
In other words, before the apprentice is 
permitted to make a money-yielding servant 
of his profession, he must become indis- 
putable master of its fundamentals. 
xi 



FOREWORD 

Years of study and apprenticeship usually 
culminate in one or more tests of the student's 
proficiency in the essayed profession. Suc- 
cess is then rewarded with some official 
recognition, certificate or diploma which in- 
forms the world that the candidate is duly 
qualified to practice the said profession with- 
out danger to client or public. Further- 
more, he is then entitled to the standard rate 
of compensation — and as much more as the 
public thinks he is worth. 

To practice many professions, without 
either having passed thru an apprenticeship 
or possessing the proper credentials, con- 
stitutes a breach of common law. The 
transgressor is liable to heavy fines or im- 
prisonment. This regulation protects both 
the public from becoming victims and the pro- 
fession from degeneracy. We can scarcely 
say that the foregoing is true of the Liter- 
ary profession. 

The reading and theater-going public 
continue to suffer; the high standards of 
a selective profession are lowered by medi- 
ocrity. Strange as it may seem, this lower- 
ing of the standards is not the triumph of a 
xii 



FOREWORD 

foe from without, but the work of an enemy 
from within. 

Who are the enemies that lurk within the 
craft? Are they the unskilled laborers who 
have simply " happened' ' thru the chance 
sale of a story? Or are they the writers 
who have attained a "name" which they 
maintain by grinding out an annual supply 
of rubbish? Or are they the manuscript 
readers and editors whose standards are 
gauged by a limited education, and unbound- 
ed opinion, a narrow acquaintance with 
literature and a broad ignorance of Life, a 
shallow judgment and a deep-rooted preju- 
dice? 

It would be a difficult matter indeed to say 
who amongst those mentioned, were the 
most blameworthy. There are, without 
doubt, many of each class within the con- 
spiracy of ignorance. 

Every year thousands of new aspirants 
rush into the alluring vacuum of beholding 
their names in print. Many are ignorant 
in handling the elemental tools of Grammar 
and Rhetoric. Most of them have little or 
no acquaintance with those pieces of liter- 
xiii 



FOREWORD 

ature and drama that are acclaimed by 
authorities and educated appreciation as the 
master works of the species. They merely 
feel that they can "write." They take their 
chance, as they would in a lottery. If they 
succeed in drawing a winning check from 
an editor they accept it as an act of the Will 
of God. They forthwith belong to the 
writing craft by special warrant of the dollar 
sign. 

It seems to have become an axiom of the 
writing craft that its members are born, not 
made. In a measure, this is true. An 
analogy is found in the diamond. Uncut 
it is without question a rare mineral, but 
cut it becomes a precious gem. 

Now that our writer has actually " hap- 
pened" into the craft without either labo- 
rious apprenticeship or meritorious service, 
we would naturally expect him to set about 
to perfect himself in the difficult art into 
which he has leaped thru sheer mental 
agility. We would not be surprised to learn 
that he had journeyed afar to see or hear a 
famous masterpiece, that he had given up 
an evening a week to hearken to some 
xiv 



FOREWORD 

learned master who has given up many 
years to digging into the profound lore of 
his adopted vocation, that he had surrounded 
himself with special books that revealed new 
aspects of his profession, that he had begun 
to lay in a store of impressions to light the 
way to continued brilliant effort, that he 
had lost no opportunity to seek perfection. 

But no, our writer too often relies upon an 
infallibility which some might call arrogance. 
He is frequently short-sighted and looks 
upon success as Fame. He is many times 
self-satisfied in becoming content with ef- 
forts that might be improved. He avers 
that to study the technique of Literature 
or of Drama is "unprofessional" with the 
same fervor evinced by those dentists, who 
rail against their colleagues who advertise 
as being "unprofessional." Quite forget- 
ting his own manner of entry into the inner 
circle, we find him telling those struggling 
to break thru the pale, that one must liter- 
ally fall into it — from the skies. 

We all know this type of writer. We daily 
read the magazines that are more than half- 
filled with stories that could be bettered in 
xv 



FOREWORD 

rhetoric, plot and technique. Some of us 
know well-known writers who are sterile of 
plots and are ready to buy them, if necessary. 

These few words are meant as a plea for 
the literary education of literary people; 
in other words, for the aspirants and mem- 
bers of the literary craft to take the profes- 
sion studiously and seriously. There is more 
poor fiction than good literature: there are 
more poorly- writ ten plays than well-written 
dramas. A wider study of the subject would 
lead to a deeper knowledge of it, and a deeper 
knowledge would result in the more perfect 
product. 

There is a great deal of poor fiction, but 
literature can be nothing save good. Fic- 
tion dies of its own inherent diseases; liter- 
ature lives because of its eternal verities. 

Henry Albert Phillips. 

Larchmont, New York, 
December 21, 1915. 



xvi 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT 
CATALOG 

The most effective Plot material is 
that which concerns all Mankind for 
all Time. 

CHAPTER I 

The Nature of Plot Material 

dramatic expression; plot particles; 
the ordinary and the extraordinary; 
abc of plotting; recognition; emo- 
tional core; dramatic fragments. 

T>Y Plot Material is not meant a Com- 
-"-* plete Plot, but any data, facts or 
fancies that are capable of interesting ex- 
pansion, dramatic culmination, effective 
characterization or scenic picturization. 

Plot material may consist of any item that 
suggests an emotional equation to the 
plotter, or that may fruitfully expand some 
theme or plot already in hand or in mind. 

Since all Art consists of dramatic expression 
— thru recognized symbols — of the emotional 

17 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

vicissitudes of mankind, it is but reasonable 
to assume that the inspiration for such ex- 
pression must come from sources directly 
related to Man and his emotions. 

Thus, plot material hinges upon a multi- 
tude of relationships that are as broad as 
the universe, as high as the heavens and as 
deep as the human soul. It may consist 
of Dramatic Fragments; Extraordinary Ex- 
cerpts; Sublime Moments; Pathetic 
Flashes; Ejaculatory Situations; Gripping 
Climaxes — or a thousand other vicissitudes. 
And, too, it may be a Complete Plot, inspired 
simultaneously from beginning to end. 

In discussing particles of plot material, 
however, we are not always to think of them 
as mighty conflagrations, but as sparks 
capable of igniting greater fires of human 
emotion. Perhaps a better term for this 
material might be kindling, all ready for the 
application of the match of inspiration. 

Discriminating between the ordinary and 
the extraordinary in the selection of plot 
material is a fine art that has much to do 
with the plotter's success in acquiring valu- 
able data. For all plot material must have 
18 



THE NATURE OF PLOT MATERIAL 

its emotional core and dramatic essence. 
It must be fire itself and strike fire in the 
imagination instantly. Such particles need 
have only a personal value to the particular 
plotter suggesting to him a complete cycle 
of activity that another might not dream of. 

{EXAMPLE I.) A jaded flower y a leaf from a child's 
primer, a sentimental "motto" browned with years, a 
cancelled check, a clipping from some local paper, a 
marriage announcement — might appear commonplace to 
all but the plotter himself, for whom they might be the, 
golden keys to some of his life's richest treasures. 

If ordinary material is employed, it must 
be at white heat, or pathetically simple, or 
viewed amidst some extraordinary phase, or 
suggest more than the obvious. Thus, the 
commonplace becomes electrified when the 
trained plotter attaches his current of 
imagination to it. In fact, the highest art 
attainable in plotting is that which is capa- 
ble of effectively utilizing the ordinary and 
the commonplace phenomena of life. Plot- 
ting becomes easier in ratio as it deals with 
the extraordinary, but narration more diffi- 
cult, because of the greater task of rendering 
the extraordinary material convincing. 

19 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

The most effective plot material is that 
which concerns all mankind at all times. 
This implies material and situations which 
we instinctively recognize as Truth. Yet 
we trespass on the oldest themes instantly. 
To escape the hackneyed, we must evolve 
new arrangements or novel culminations. 

{EXAMPLE 2.) The ABC of plotting are: {A) 
Selection; (B) Arrangement; (C) Culmination. They 
constitute the beginning, the middle and the end. Selec- 
tion concerns Plot Material; Arrangement concerns Plot 
Development; Culmination concerns Plot Climax. 

The successful collecting of plot material 
is largely a matter of cultivation. One be- 
gins by studying passive phenomena and 
grows to see plots budding spontaneously 
from the slightest suggestion of inspirational 
material. The novice may make the error 
of collecting every piece of merely violent 
and dynamic matter that comes to his 
notice, before he learns to discern that which 
is truly emotional and dramatic. 

(EXAMPLE 3.) A newspaper heading might read: 
CHILD KIDNAPPED— PARENTS IN DESPAIR. 
After all, that is but an ordinary violation of the law in 
these days and a commonplace crime. It is too trite an 

20 



THE NATURE OF PLOT MATERIAL 

episode to garner as plot material, else one would be 
swamped with clippings in less than a year. But let 
us suppose that the heading read: KIDNAPS HER 
FATHER— MOTHER SUES IN VAIN. Such ma- 
terial invites a play or a story! 

Our first concern, then, as progressive plot 
collectors, shall be to acquire — if we are not 
endowed with it — the faculty of Recognition. 
This implies an instantaneous knowledge 
that material under consideration is valuable. 
The test of plot particles comes in effectively 
translating them into terms of emotion that 
shall re-excite a reader or an audience with 
the feeling that gave them birth. 

Dramatic fragments will flash across the 
heavens of the average mind perhaps a 
dozen times a day. The average person has 
no use for these poignant flashes. With 
the writer of drama, or fiction, the case 
should be different — fictional ideas are the 
most important part of his stock in trade. 
All inspirational data may be called plot 
material. And that which inspires the 
creation, continuation and culmination of 
fictional material is the nucleus of all pro- 
gressive fictional endeavor. 
21 



// this is so (meaning the Beginning 
of our Plot); and this is so (meaning 
the Development); therefore this must 
be so (meaning the Climax and End). 

CHAPTER II 

Discrimination Between Plot Material 
and Complete Plot 

a confusion of terms ; analogies in other 
fields of art; law of fiction plot; 
the sum of all the parts. 

TJLOT Material includes one or all of the 
■*■ many varieties of inspirational matter 
that contribute to the nucleus of the Com- 
plete Plot. By Plot Material we mean 
fragments picked up here and there by the 
alert plot collector, or odd tid-bits of expe- 
rience garnered from the thoughts or lives of 
humanity. 

The Complete Plot, however, rarely hap- 
pens — it is constructed. It is a combination 
of the stability of science and the subtlety 
of art. It requires the brains of structure, 

22 



PLOT MATERIAL AND COMPLETE PLOT 

the imagination of artifice and the fancy of 
adornment. 

{EXAMPLE 4.) The most remarkable case of pure- 
fiction, completely plotted, that has come to public notice 
in years, is to be found in the columns of the newspapers 
of November, 1915. GIRL CLAIMS BODY AS 
MYTHICAL LOVERS. In which a romantic unloved 
girl claims a body in the morgue as that of her fiance. A 
lover at last — tho a dead one! It is sheerest fact, yet 
fiction of the highest rank. The dangers surrounding 
it are obvious. Current magazines were naturally deluged 
with this plot whole cloth. 

Just as "one swallow does not make a 
summer," so one plot particle, germ, frag- 
ment or item of material does not make a 
Complete Plot. The purpose of the plot is 
to select and assimilate organic particles of 
like material into one palpitating organism. 

We should lay especial stress on discrim- 
ination between plot material and the com- 
plete plot because of a widespread confusion 
of the two terms. Many plot collectors have 
labored under the delusion that they were 
the possessors of plots in great quantities — 
until they came to the practical point of 
trying to evolve a complete story or play from 
a given item of collected material^ _It 

23 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

proved to be but an isolated fragment. 
Disappointment at this juncture is often 
keen enough to sever the fine threads of 
further creation. 

Can you imagine other works of art being 
submitted for public approval tho incom- 
pletely conceived — a piece of music with the 
motif only half developed ; a statuary group 
with one of the figures that completes the 
thought missing; an architectural work 
unbalanced thru lack of finished design? 
The plot, or plan, or motif in fiction, or 
drama, is more subtle than the foregoing 
because of our task of not merely simulating 
emotions, but, further, of creating convinc- 
ing life. Gratifying conviction depends upon 
completeness of plot. 

Plot fragments — as will be seen after 
studying the Plot Catalog — are as plentiful 
as the sands of the sea. The only condition 
is that we must go to the seaside for them — 
to the Shores of Humanity beside the Sea of 
Life. There is the sand worn from the ages 
by the Tides of Time, washed by the Waves 
of Passion, swept by the Storms of Struggle 
and stilled by the Calms of Death. 
24 



PLOT MATERIAL AND COMPLETE PLOT 

Complete Plots are seldom the work of 
nature, but, rather, of the skill and genius 
of some accomplished builder of plots. Those 
that fall into the hands of plot collectors are 
bound to be branded with two damaging 
stigmas. They are either the finished product 
of some other plot builder, or prodigies of 
nature that will no doubt be seized upon as 
common property by a score of current writers. 

(EX A MPLE 5 . ) As an instance of the first mentioned: 
A clever raconteur told a story one evening to a gathering 
of friends, among whom was a well-known writer of 
fiction. The story purported to be taken from real life. 
He wrote it down next day almost verbatim and sent it to 
the magazine for which it was especially adapted. It was 
returned with a note from the editor caustically stating 
that they had published the story in the previous month's 
issue! 

The law of the fiction plot is a simple one. 
It is analogous with the syllogism of logic. 
Near the opening of our plot we make a 
statement, more or less direct, that so and 
so is the case — the hero desires happiness, 
for instance. But in terms of action, or 
narration, we proceed to follow this state- 
ment with another equally vital — the villain, 
rival, or obstacle is determined that he shall 

25 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT ATALOG 

not attain happiness. Both, being equally 
determined a struggle ensues, t v before the 
following must happen — hence oui Climax. 

{EXAMPLE 6.) Kipling in his earlier stories fre- 
quently states his problems in so many words. Take 
the opening line of " Beyond the Pale": " A man should, 
whatever happens, keep to his own caste, breed and race. " 
Here is the first premise of our syllogism. Our hero does 
not keep to his caste, is the second premise. It follows 
that what happens is the natural conclusion. 

The complete plot then is the ultimate con- 
dition in the process of plotting. It is as 
absolute as the mathematical axiom that 
tells us that the Whole is the Sum of All the 
Parts. The process of arriving at the com- 
plete plot may be reversed, tho it must always 
continue to be the sum of all the parts. Our 
usual method in plot construction is to begin 
with a Cause and lead up to the dramatic 
effect of that cause. But in the mystery 
type of story we set forth the Effect in the 
beginning and do not disclose the Cause 
until the Climax has been reached. The 
Middle, or Obstacle, concerns the continued 
struggle of untoward circumstances to baffle 
the reader, listener or observer. 
i26 



PLOT MAXIMAL AND COMPLETE PLOT 

(EXAMPLE.*.) "Arden—the Village of Despair" 
opens with a slt\ement from the lips of Andrew Fraling of 
the terrible Effect of some malign agency. The last word 
in the story discloses the Cause — morphine. In the play, 
11 Under Cover, " the Effect of a gem smuggler y upon a 
certain group of persons is dramatically set forth in the 
first act. The Cause is not fully disclosed until the 
identity of the secret service chief is made one with that of 
the hero in the last act. 

In our opening lines we set in motion a 
specific action. It should become our aim 
thruout the remainder of our construction to 
develop this motive to its implied grand 
crisis — and STOP. Our plot is complete; 
our product is perfect; our goal has been at- 
tained. The Middle of our product has 
been concerned with the obstacle interposing 
itself to prevent or delay the desired climax. 
Art, of course, must invest and permeate the 
whole with conviction. 

In conclusion we may say that a Plot is 
the unpolished material for a COMPLETE 
and DECISIVE action; it should be com- 
posed of cumulative and interesting incidents 
rising to a dramatic climax and terminating 
in a manner calculated to gratify the par- 
ticipant and warrant the interest aroused in 
its beginning. 

27 



Plot operates within the matter it in- 
habits just as a soul does within a 
body: it first seeks perfect form and 
then ignites with indestructible life. 

CHAPTER III 

The Relation of Plot to Literary 
Construction 

not composition, but construction; key- 
stone of intelligent effort; soul of 
organic matter ; relation to strategy ; 
non-fiction forms. 

A PLOT is something more than a mere 
plan, or design — the beginning, end 
and scope of which we may behold at a 
glance. A plan, or design, is after all but 
a set of instructions, cold and lifeless, tho 
composed and carried to fruition possibly 
by genius. 

A plot, however, becomes a living thing. 
It palpitates, it moves, it excites — and it 
may even run away with the inexpert plot 
manipulator. 

A plan may include the bringing together 
28 



RELATION OF PLOT TO LITERARY CONSTRUCTION 

from every direction of the elements that 
shall enter into its composition. But the 
perfect plot is never a matter of composition, 
but a delicate task of construction. We con- 
struct in but one direction — upward. We 
select only such building material as shall 
bear an integral relation to the end in view. 
A plot selects and assimilates organic par- 
ticles of like material into a palpitating 
organism. On the other hand, our plan 
is but a structural organization wherein 
beauty and balance, strength and integrity 
combine to form a perfect design. 

The greatest virtue of a plot lies in the 
fact that it does not disclose its full poten- 
tiality in an instant — it unfolds it step by 
step. 

{EXAMPLE 8.) (i) It aims toward a fixed goal; 
(2) It meets the obstacles that stand in its path; (3) It 
attains its coveted goal in a surprising, admirable, awe- 
inspiring, or effective manner. 

The reader, listener, observer or appreci- 
ator of any form of plot becomes conscious 
only of following (not working) out a de- 
lightful problem, or veiled scheme, to its 
29 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

perfect completion. His emotions are so 
affected that the problem becomes real and 
the medium a thing of life and experience. 
In other words, thru the employment of 
the plot, we must endow literary or dramatic 
matter so faithfully with the phenomena of 
life that the appreciator will give way to 
illusion and accept it as emotional expe- 
rience — past, present or possible. 

The plot constructor has the same advan- 
tage over the reader, listener or observer that 
the commander of an attacking force has 
over his adversary. The attacking general 
knows exactly where he is going to strike, 
he plans precisely when he shall resort to 
his heavy artillery, he has estimated the re- 
sources of the enemy and calculated the 
effect on his ensemble and he has kept ever 
in mind his final objective. Thus we see 
the application of Plot in military tactics. 
If our attacking general fails in his plotting, 
his action parallels that of our authors 
failing continually in plot — it becomes merely 
offensive. 

We may reduce the plot element to a single 
word. 

30 



RELATION OF PLOT TO LITERARY CONSTRUCTION 

{EXAMPLE q.) On one occasion an officer was being 
falsely accused of many crimes by a high statesman. His 
single retort was based on knowledge that no one else in 
the empire dreamed of: " Traitor! " It was such a verbal 
bomb of Truth that the statesman stood self-accused. 

This leads us to remark that plot must be 
alway the embodiment of Truth, not neces- 
sarily the retail of facts. 

We have seen how the mind that retains 
its plotting faculty in a nice choice, that 
elects one word and rejects the many thou- 
sand others in our language, may attain both 
the ideal and the dramatic effect. Thruout, 
plotting involves primarily the processes of 
selection and election. Thus thru sentence, 
phrase and paragraph in the progressive 
construction of rhetoric, composition and 
fiction we distinguish that which is forceful, 
perfect or effective thru its adherence to 
these processes. The phrase is one of the 
most effective instruments in vitalizing prose 
or poetry, fiction or drama. The phraseolog- 
ical sentence, when isolated, should disclose 
an organic perfection — a suggestive range 
well begun and completely ended in itself. It 
should be in full possession of its plot faculties ! 

31 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

{EXAMPLE 10.) "The moan seemed to recur with 
each breath-like zephyr that rose from the soft bosom of 
the umbrous night." The cry in question came from 
the lips of a poor girl who was that moment an outcast 
and enduring the pangs of child-birth. The phraseology 
is such that it suggests a farther range of vision that is 
complete and effective in itself, while it intensifies the 
picture it foreshadows. 

Plot then is something more than either 
rhetoric or logic — it is the vitalizing force 
that makes both rhetoric and logic personal. 

What is it that makes a good joke, anec- 
dote or bon-mot differ from a poor one? 
You have heard a good one spoken by one 
person and heard it retold by another later. 
The facts were the same, but the unskilful 
narrator had lost the point. The plot had 
fallen to pieces! Plot value, then, may be 
found in the pith of a remark; the spice 
of a bon-mot; the point of a joke; the inter- 
est of an anecdote; the appeal of a speech; 
the conviction in a sermon ; the big moment 
of the play; the punch of the photoplay; 
the climax of the short story. The good 
plotter is the good after-dinner speaker; 
the good raconteur; the good orator; the 
good preacher; the good dramatist; the 
32 



RELATION OF PLOT TO LITERARY CONSTRUCTION 

good photoplaywright; the good short story 
writer. 

The shorter the literary product, the more 
difficult the art required in plotting it. 
A five-word phrase is sometimes harder to 
plot effectively than a fifty-thousand-word 
novel. 

{EXAMPLE ii.) Let us suppose that Patrick Henry 
had remarked: "Well, Fd rather die than not be given 
liberty I' 1 which is, in essence, the same as the immortal 
phrase, "Give me liberty, or give me death!" A slight 
rearrangement is made involving plot value and we have 
a sentence of living fire. 

The plot, from the point of view of the 
writer, is a painstaking process of which he 
is conscious thruout. The speaker tries 
out his phrases until he strikes the happy 
one — thru a process of plotting. The 
preacher carefully keys his conclusion to his 
peroration. The jokesmith is not a marvel 
of perpetual spontaneity, but a hard-work- 
ing laborer forging words with as much 
honest sweat as other smiths. 

The viewpoint of the reader, listener or 
observer of a given literary or dramatic 
product lies with the artistic perceptions 

33 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

only. He must not become conscious of the 
scientific process at all. The energy of the 
labor, thought and science must be assimi- 
lated in the work, leaving no evidence of the 
creaking machinery of the process. The 
product must have become an instrument 
of pure entertainment. The participator in 
a literary product must not be called upon 
to expend any of that straining effort that 
the author exerted in its preparation. 



34 



The child who eats what he likes least 
first and saves what he likes most to the 
last, might be said to show a natural 
aptitude for good plotting. 

CHAPTER IV 

Common Sources of Plot Material 

plot matter also fiction material; the 
five senses and life; the dramatic 
ear and eye ; the fictitious mood and its 
stimulants; what constitutes confi- 
dences; STEALING PLOTS OR STIMULAT- 
ING ideas; books, newspapers and 
poetry; phrases, excerpts, pictures 
and notes. 

^^T EITHER life nor the human mind can 
-L ^ be called, properly, a storehouse of 
fiction or plot material. On the one hand, 
life is full of all sorts of things — an infinites- 
imal part of which is naturally dramatic. On 
the other hand, the human mind is more of 
a sieve than it is a storehouse. 

Fiction and drama are creative arts, 
which fact implies absolute originality. We 

35 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

create beauty, atmosphere, charm and the 
dramatic story itself, but we do not create 
material — any more than the sculptor creates 
the plaster and the stone and the bronze — 
which is merely the medium thru which the 
idea is interpreted. 

The imagination of the true artist is a 
caldron of ideas. His first stage of training 
should consist in learning how to interpret 
ideas into such form that they readily will 
be recognized, appreciated and acclaimed 
as worthy examples. His second stage of 
training should be in learning how to stim- 
ulate the wealth of his genius toward un- 
limited production. 

\ First of all, then, we must have imagi- 
nation. Imagination needs but a drop of 
color to suggest an entire picture; it needs 
but a spark to start a conflagration; it 
needs but a sigh to bring a tear; it needs but 
a deed to suggest a life; it needs but a plot 
germ to suggest a plot and a plot to build a 
story. 

The first injunction in the garnering of 
plot material is, Do not seek plots, but plot 
material. One might as well seek complete 

36 



COMMON SOURCES OF PLOT MATERIAL 

stories as complete plots. Both are the 
completed work of another. The test of 
your artistic ability will rest on your crea- 
tive talent. That which someone else has 
brought to fruition is forever the property 
of that someone else. Rarely we find an 
actual series of happenings in life that fol- 
lows the laws of the fiction plot. To use 
such a sequence — as thousands always do — 
makes of the user a mere historian, journal- 
ist or recorder of facts. The author is a 
recorder, too, but he sets down the real 
emotions, not the actual events of his 
day and generation. He who reads the 
famous authors' records may feel the mo- 
tives, the moods, the real life of those past 
generations that moulded the heritage for 
future generations. The mere facts or 
actual happenings of other days have become 
curiosities, interesting because of their un- 
reality in the light of Progress. We must 
seek those plot elements that are eternal and 
universal to all men of all time, and not 
merely the chit-chat and flotsam and jetsam 
that are ephemeral and local with a genera- 
tion or a nation. 

37 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

Any item of material that spontaneously 
starts Active creation or dramatic conse- 
quence is valuable. Any item, note or 
excerpt that preserves an emotional im- 
pression at, or near, the white heat of its 
original conception is precious. Any item 
that generates elevating sentiments, that 
reproduces a beautiful mental picture or 
that inspires sublime thoughts is a treasure. 

{EXAMPLE 12.) I. {An article) u Woman and the 
Fading Maternal Instinct." 2. {An advertisement) 
"The Story that Lives in Deathless Melody." j. {A 
humorous picture) "Bringing Up Father." 4. {An 
editorial) " Repetition is Reputation." 5. {A sociological 
report) "Big Brothering Boys Who are in the Law's 
Grip." 6. {On seeing a motto of Napoleon stuck up 
in an office) " The more I study the world the more am 
I convinced of the inability of brute force to create any- 
thing durable." 7. {On seeing the colored picture of 
a girl listening at the mouth of the Sphinx.) 8. {A 
photograph of a war-ruined church with the image of 
Christ left intact.) g. {A piece of music containing a 
haunting strain.) 10. {A cartoon of the hideous giant, 
Wealthy dangling humanity like puppets on a string.) 

It is the business of the builder of literary 
and dramatic works to go thru life with his 
five senses sensitized. Above all things, 

38 



COMMON SOURCES OF PLOT MATERIAL 

he must cultivate the dramatic ear and eye 
that thresh out the real deeds from the 
actual events of daily life. This does not 
demand that he be eternally on the qui vive 
with a pair of clipping shears in one hand 
and a pencil and note-book in the other. 
There should be a regular study and work 
period that includes a review of events 
which would no doubt disclose impressions 
of fiction value. 

{EXAMPLE 13.) 1. Almost daily the prolific writer 
will see "characters" that are worthy of record. 2. In 
some of us music awakens a glorious fictitious pictorial 
strain. 3. It is to be hoped that some sister Art is 
stimulative of original creation — Painting, Architecture, 
Drama, Music, Sculpture. 4. A good sermon invari- 
ably starts new ideas. 5. An original thought dropped 
by someone in the course of formal or informal speech has 
often been the nucleus of an excellent story or play. 

Beware of the "true story. " Almost in- 
variably it is a recital of local nature that 
has deeply affected a few individuals, or a 
community, which would prove tame to a 
larger circle of humanity already weighted 
or entertained by parallel experiences of 
their own. More significant is the fact that 

39 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

the public airing of a "true story" usually 
constitutes a serious breach of confidence. 
The selfish author might bare a pitiful 
11 skeleton,' ' or disclose an annoying hoax 
on the other fellow. 

Books and poetry are prolific sources of 
fiction material. That nothing should be 
taken " whole cloth' ' is to be understood 
as a perpetual maxim in the search for fic- 
tion material. We garner and file material 
for what it suggests of further elaboration, 
not what it is in its undisturbed relations. 
It is equally true of all plot material that we 
base our fiction developments upon a mere 
thread that is cut away from yards of con- 
text matter. 

(EXAMPLE 14.) On reading the works of Francis 
Parkman one is struck by the almost miraculous stoicism 
of the French fathers. It should suggest many stories along 
parallel lines. ... On reading "The Autobiography 
of Benvenuto Cellini, " one involuntarily gets living ideas, 
... To read of Napoleon is to court the most charming 
of the romantic muses. 

Poetry abounds in pregnant phrases. 
For that matter, the true poet puts a power- 
ful plot in his few lines of verse. Invariably 
40 



COMMON SOURCES OF PLOT MATERIAL 

a verse should suggest a story, or a character, 
or a situation. A single dot, made now and 
again on the margins of books — particu- 
larly of poetry — containing picturesque 
phrases of extraordinary suggestive power, 
is worth while. Later the pregnant phrases 
may be garnered in a note-book. They 
may prove equally valuable as plot germs, 
dramatic situations or attractive titles. 

{EXAMPLE 75.) Here are ten taken at random: 
1. The Anvil of God. 2. The Courage of the Dreamer. 
j. The Enemy Who Signs No Truce. 4. A Gamble in 
Futures. 5. Imaginary Matterhorns. 6. Kingdom, 
Power and Glory. 7. The Mask of Immortality. 
8. 0h f For One Hour of Youth! q. The Quality of 
Youth. 10. Sell All Thou Hast. (What a wealth of 
plot material!) 

Plot material is invaluable — upon one 
condition. It must be systematized. You 
will waste your time in collecting material 
in quantity, unless you go to the further 
initial trouble of putting it in such uniform 
shape, by filing it under specific heads, that 
it may be intelligible. Title it, alphabetize 
it, keep it in uniform cases on uniform sizes 
of paper, group subjects together — anything, 

41 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

rather than let it accumulate in an incon- 
glomerate mass. Otherwise, it will be worse 
than valueless, by becoming a source of 
constant annoyance. Put your items only 
in a loose-leaf book, if you use a book at all. 
The envelope, card or case systems are pref- 
erable. 

You may have devised a category of your 
own. Even so,' it is suggested that you make 
a study of the Plot Catalog that follows 
later, and see if it may not contain more 
advantages than anything you have yet 
seen. If this be true, you should make use 
of it. 



42 



Plot Material is the substance of ex- 
perience reduced in the crucibles of 
Emotion , Circumstance and Fate to 
the Essence of Life. 

CHAPTER V 

What the Universal Plot Catalog is 

not a list of actual plots j potential 
rather than existent; chaos versus 
system; a thesaurus, ready reference, 
perpetual stimulant, spontaneous col- 
lector and efficient file; eminently 
useful for editors, orators, teachers, 
librarians, newspaper men, statisti- 
cians, preachers — as well as writers 
of all kinds. 

SOME readers of this volume may be 
disappointed in finding that it does 
not contain a list of actual plots — possibly 
of all the plots that have been used, or even 
all the plots that ever can be used. 

Of what use would a list of actual plots 
be to makers of original literature and drama? 
If they were plots conceived by me, they 

43 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

would forever be my plots. If they were 
complete plots, others could do no more than 
borrow them. And if one writer borrowed 
them, might not a thousand do the same? 

A list of all the plots that have ever been 
used would be historically interesting and 
prove instructive, without a doubt, but it 
would take many large tomes to hold them 
all. As for all the good, complete plots 
that are possible thru combinations of plot 
material, that is quite beyond our calcula- 
tion, we are thankful to say. Therein lies 
eternal hope and progress for the writer. 

We are re-creators, rather than creators. 
By means of contributive channels of in- 
spiration, we " breathe in" pregnant germs 
of dramatic activity that incubate in the 
imagination and are re-born as full-bodied 
plots. We must have some food, then, for 
the creative imagination to feed upon — 
some personal experience warmed over in a 
delicious mood, some redolent memory re- 
baked in a savory fancy, some other man's 
violent deeds simmered down to a succulent 
drama, some human whim or failure re- 
hashed into a delectable morsel. 

44 



WHAT THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG IS 

Let us suppose, to employ still another 
simile, that all possible plot stimuli were 
laid out in a formal park, called the Garden 
of Man, wherein we might stroll at will. 
Therein we would find every variety of life 
that budded or bloomed within the soul 
of man from seed to flower, from harvest 
and back again to seed. Here we would 
find the fairest flowers and the foulest fungi, 
the richest harvests and the deadliest 
undergrowths, rare bulbs and seedlings and 
rank grubs and cankers, shade-giving trees 
and poisonous vines, crystal brooks and 
deadly springs — the garden of Eden and 
the valley of the Shadow both within its 
walls. Here is a suggestion of all the vital- 
ity of man's life and all the horror of his 
death. 

Such a journey and sojourn is what the 
Universal Plot Catalog offers to the imagi- 
native plot seeker. It is a progressive cate- 
gory of Man — his vicissitudes, his desires, 
his relationships and his struggles — in which 
all dramatic conflict and plot material in the 
universe find their source, life and end. 

All that vitally concerns man vitally con- 

45 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

cerns fiction and drama — it is fiction and 
drama. 

Instead of a chaotic dictionary of man's 
daily experience expressed in a billion signs 
of negligible action, we are offered a concise 
thesaurus of eternal human life suggested 
in terms of vital emotion. Here we may 
not seek the exact word and act, upon which 
to build a paragraph or a composition, but 
the suggestive thought or relationship with 
which to re-create a human soul or a seg- 
ment of life. 

Most of us meet hundreds of our fellow 
men in daily contact, yet how much do 
we learn of one of them that reveals his 
real inner life? But, lay bare the soul of 
a single fellow creature and the fiction artist 
would find material for a score of emotional 
canvasses. The Plot Catalog is designed 
to lay bare the soul of Everyman and reveal 
the Thousand-and-One Nights Entertain- 
ments that have thrilled the inner Temple. 

(EXAMPLE 16.) The truth of the foregoing is 
realized, sooner or later, by the inspired creator of fiction 
or drama. He comes to learn that the drabbest or shallow- 
est the most phlegmatic or the most immovable of creatures 

4 6 



WHAT THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG IS 

need but a rare dominant note to rouse music in their 
hearts, or a certain personal spark to strike fire in their 
souls. Behind their curtains of uninteresting exteriors 
there sits enthroned in their souls a resplendent figure 
that may be Desire, Greed, Affection, Religion, or By- 
gones that will rise in sublime might, or crouch in bestial 
ferocity when the proper incentive is cast at its head. 
According to the same principle of human perversity it 
has been said that " every man has his price. " 

Not only is the Plot Catalog a treasury of 
suggestive data but, because of the progres- 
sive arrangement in organic units, it becomes 
a ready reference to all relative matter. 
This is made possible by means of a com- 
plete alphabetical index locating every sub- 
ject under as many heads as it appears, with 
frequent cross-indexing. In this way a 
given subject in its broadest or most infinites- 
imal phase may be located instantly. 

The progressive and organized synthesis 
and analysis of relationships are bound to 
act as constant stimuli to the mind seeking 
new combinations and divisions of human 
activity and to the imagination relying on 
live inspiration and emotions. Simulta- 
neously, it makes of itself a spontaneous 
collector of new plot material, evolving it 

47 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

automatically by and within itself. Thus 
the inert mind, the fagged imagination and 
the stagnant fancy may come to view it 
as a purgative, a stimulant and a tonic. 

The Universal Plot Catalog — and its 
invaluable auxiliary, the Plot File and Col- 
lector — is of value to others than creators 
of Fiction and Drama. Editors are daily 
importuned to employ facts, fiction or fancy 
in some new relationship in order to keep up 
the killing pace of out-doing competitors 
in novelty and spicing the satiety of the 
blase public. Their positions often depend 
on a perpetual succession of new ideas. 

Orators will find themselves growing 
"stale" unless they supply their imaginations 
with new ideas drawn from man's probable 
and possible experiences which they weave 
into the spoken word pointed with dramatic 
fire, intimate anecdotes, picturesque phrases, 
interesting stories and emotional appeal. A 
perusal of the Catalog should prove an in- 
evitable freshener of thought. 

Teachers are not even useful in the exer- 
cise of their professions unless they are ca- 
pable of interpreting problems, lessons and 

4 8 



WHAT THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG IS 

tasks into practical solutions, living exam- 
ples and familiar answers, all expressed in 
terms of universal experience. Universal 
experience is the basis of common under- 
standing. The progressive teacher will em- 
ploy the Catalog both as a stimulant for 
novel presentation and as a collector and 
file for interpretive material. ^ 

Librarians are always looking for liter- 
ature to create or to supply every inquiry, 
doubt and fancy that might or should tenant 
the human mind. They would find the 
Catalog valuable in suggesting new cate- 
gories of subjects, articles and books. A 
file used in accordance with the Catalog 
would enlarge their own reference records to 
cover the whole Life of humanity, as well 
as the Literature of man. 

Newspaper Men must constantly supply 
their superiors with news, or be listed for 
ultimate dismissal. News is not merely a 
recital of the daily hum-drum of existence. 
The reporter, editorial writer, special article 
writer, editor, caption writer or special cor- 
respondent must present his news in a new 
way, from a new angle, with a new twist. The 

49 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

Catalog will not only supply these writers 
with infinite subject matter for new material 
but it will suggest every angle of human 
relationship. A file would become a literal 
gold mine. 

Statisticians by profession, and those of 
us who make a hobby of collecting statistical 
data, informative records, literary odds and 
ends, anecdotes, jokes, poems, personal 
material and memoranda will find the Cat- 
alog, in conjunction with the file, excellent 
as a reference and container. 

The Preacher is the Interpreter of God in 
terms of Man. Texts are abundant, but 
their relationship to man's life and expe- 
rience are not so plentiful. Hence the dull 
sermons that fail to divert the modern mind 
seeking new thoughts or fixed upon selfish 
interests. The Catalog dissects man and 
sorts out his elementary construction in a 
way that reveals his emotions in the making. 
The opportunity is offered on every side to 
apply the argument of welfare to his soul 
and trace the relationship to his Creator. 
The single sub-division, The Soul of Man, 
should occupy the attention of every preacher. 
50 



The writer of literature or drama must 
become the historian of the prehistoric- 
man, have a finger on the pulse of the 
man in love; be on speaking terms 
with the famous man; have a bowing 
acquaintance with the kings of men; 
understand the impulses of the man 
steeped in crime; suffer with man at 
his death, and commune with man 
after death. 

CHAPTER VI 

The Scope of the Catalog 

man; his vicissitudes and his desires, 
his relationships and his struggles; 
the plot of the plot catalog; a com- 
PLETE cycle; the line of progression; 

THAT WHICH IS NOT MAN; ENDING WITH 
THE BEGINNING. 

THE whole of the Universal Plot Catalog 
is cast under a single grand division — 
Man. By Man we mean mankind — all- 
humanity. We writers and readers being 
men with understandings that are limited 

51 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

by human comprehensions, it follows that 
our expression must be in the terms and sym- 
bols of mankind, tho we interpret the soul 
of a star, the voice of an angel, the trials of 
a camel, the sighs of the wind or the life of 
a tree. 

Our success in translating essence into 
substance is measured by the quantity of 
universal Man or the quality of Human 
appeal our product contains. The zenith 
of artistic appeal is attained when the 
reader, listener or beholder may pause, 
close his eyes and commune with his soul, 
saying, "This is I." Then we have suc- 
ceeded in realizing true Art — or artistic 
Truth — by translating essence into sub- 
stance that is again transmuted into es- 
sence ! 

In seeking to discriminate between the 
actual existence of man and his real life, 
we find the latter divided into four vital 
categories — Vicissitudes, Desires, Relation- 
ships and Struggles. These are in themselves 
progressive and cyclical. Man's real life 
is evidenced by a vicissitude, which is soon 
stirred by desires, which lead to relation- 

52 



THE SCOPE OF THE CATALOG 

ships, which are followed by inevitable 
struggles, which bring him back to a new 
vicissitude to begin the cycle all over again. 

Our first grand sub-division, then, is 
Vicissitude. The natural beginning is that 
of Origin (A). But no sooner do we find 
man existent than we see him filled with 
Aspiration (B). Then, with his aspirations 
but half-blown we behold him snatched up 
by Destiny (C), which decides and settles 
his fate. Briefly, that is the beginning and 
the end of man. We have seen him lifted 
into being from behind a dim veil called the 
eternal Past and placed again behind a dim 
veil called the eternal Future. From dust 
he came and to dust he returns. 

But, while he lingered his brief hour within 
the pale of humanity, we saw him now and 
again swept aside from the grim treadmill 
of life by the whimsical hand of Humor 
(D), in the diversion of laughing or weeping. 
Here we find man most himself, the individ- 
ual, delighted or devoured by his own per- 
sonality. 

There remains but one possible vicissitude, 
which is that of Not Being Man. For, 

53 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

there are all creation and creatures to be 
reckoned with in the broad fields of artistic 
expression. Life would be shallow indeed 
to relegate all real life within the soul of 
man alone. 

In Origin, we find the Vicissitudes of 
Creation and Re-Creation. Aspiration is 
tainted with the Vicissitudes of Passion and 
Deterioration. Destiny is purged and ele- 
vated again by the Vicissitudes of Inquiry 
and the Infinite. Humor is swayed by the 
Ridiculous and the Sublime. Not-Man may 
again, in any presentment in all creation, 
run the whole gamut of human vicissitudes. 

We arrive at our minor sub-divisions. 
The first is that of The Nature of Man (I), 
under Creation. Under Re-Creation we 
find The Heart of Man (II), just as it is 
under the benign spirit of love that man re- 
creates in his own image. Once man's 
nature is established then his sentiments 
begin to take root. 

Aspiration immediately follows man's 
heart, and under Passion we find first The 
Ambition of Man (III) that aims and leads 
toward The Might of Man (IV). Once might 

54 



THE SCOPE OF THE CATALOG 

is attained, Deterioration sets in, first, in 
The Character of Man (V), finally in The 
Flesh of Man (VI). 

Destiny manifests itself first thru Inquiry 
in The Mind of Man (VII), and secondly, 
reaches the ultimate, in the Infinite, thru 
The Soul of Man (VIII). 

Both the Ridiculous and the Sublime 
are called for thru The Emotions of Man 
(IX). 

In detail we see the crescendo course of 
man. First of all Man's actual Desire for 
Existence, which naturally introduces his 
Relations with Creation and a consequent 
Struggle for Individuality. The moment 
his individuality is set up he becomes con- 
scious of a Desire for Happiness which leads 
to his Relations with Woman and ends in 
his Struggle for his Family. 

Now he has settled down to the business 
of life and there creeps into his being a 
Desire for Position, which entails certain 
Relations with Society that involve him 
in the Struggle for Achievement. Achieve- 
ment alone is not sufficient and there rises 
the Desire for Supremacy which brings about 

55 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

Relations with Antagonists who are equally 
ferocious in the Struggle for Power. Power 
once attained, man's Desire for Luxury crops 
up and involves him in Relations with 
Morality and brings about a sinister Struggle 
against Sin. Enter Sin and a new passion 
becomes paramount — his Desire for Health, 
that vice has undermined, bringing painful 
Relations with Disease and the losing Strug- 
gle against Death. 

But there are higher gifts than the flesh of 
man. He has his mind to sustain him under 
trials and there is his soul which has a 
destiny even beyond this world. Thus we 
turn to man's Desire for Knowledge and 
watch his Application of Reason and follow 
his Struggle against Ignorance. Thruout, 
there has been his ever-present Desire for 
Divinity, or his Relations with his God, 
that meant a constant Struggle for his 
Religion. Man has been created and re- 
turned to his Creator. 

All the foregoing represents man as he is 
seen by his fellows; there remains that inner 
life of the emotions that he feels himself 
only. Those of us who have become burnt- 

56 



THE SCOPE OF THE CATALOG 

out husks thru the bufferings of life reveal 
unguessed vitality when Impassioned by 
the Domination of the Ludicrous, or by 
the Stimulation of Diversion, or by Partici- 
pation in Pleasure or by the Stress of Pathos. 
It is the law of nature that revives spent 
tissues thru diversion, relaxation and recrea- 
tion. Writers, especially, will do well in 
giving heed to it. 

Finally, we turn to all that is not man, 
and by means of imagination endow this 
extra-humanity with humanness thru Per- 
sonification. This includes the Humanizing 
of All Creation, Creatures and Mythology 
and the Appropriation of their Phenomena 
as Dramatic Material. 

The sub-dividing of the minor sub- 
divisions may become almost infinite in its 
scope, still the progression is as simple and 
effective as is that of all the other divisions. 
We have endeavored to include all essential 
suggestion. In each case we begin with 
Origin and close with Destiny. We round 
out cycles which themselves are within 
cycles. Beginning, as it were, with the 
infinite, deducing the finite, but closing with 

57 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

the inevitable infinite. It is the course of 
all things human! 

Thus in sub-minor-division I. PRIMEVAL 
{Prehistoric) we grope about among the dim 
perceptions of the awakening of drama in 
humanity and find it in the half-human, 
half-divine Mythology that knits man with 
God and makes earth His footstool. The 
last sub-minor-division, ioo, is MYTHOL- 
OGY {Not Man or Beast), and the last trail- 
ing divisions under that head are: (w) 
Primeval and (x) Prehistoric! Thus Man 
has returned again to his nebulous status 
that is both his remotest past and his most 
advanced future. 



58 



Tangible Experience is the Interpreter 
of Unutterable Life; it is the Lan- 
guage of the Soul translated into the 
Vocabulary of the Body; the Word 
of the Person that reveals the Thought 
of the Personality. 

CHAPTER VII 
How to Use the Plot Catalog 

A PRACTICAL DEVICE, NOT A THEORETICAL 
CONTRIVANCE; THE AUTOMATIC PLOT COL- 
LECTOR AND FILE; HOW ONE MAY BE 
MADE ; FILED ACCORDING TO THE PREDOM- 
INANT PHASE ; HOW TO AVOID CONFUSION ; 
ALL DIVISIONS ARE POTENTIAL; PRACTICAL 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 

CONSTRUCTING the Plot Catalog in- 
volved the simple task of taking the 
meat out of life. Creating fiction or drama 
consists of the difficult process of recon- 
structing a unit of life out of a piece of the 
aforesaid meat. 

As we have said, the Plot Catalog has two 
practical uses. The first is that of a stimu- 

59 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

lus of thought and imagination. The second 
is that of a file — or containing record — of 
resultant ideas and similar material already 
in hand. 

Our contention is, that an intelligent 
writer may take up the Catalog with an 
earnest desire to imbibe an idea and succeed 
in his desire. We assume, for the moment, 
that he has not an idea in his head. His 
mind is blase with stray thoughts, thread- 
bare ideas, trite plots and other people's 
stories. 

Any single word in the Catalog taken, 
with no regard to context, is as meaningless 
as a sentence from a book, or a line of dialog 
from a play. Thus any division, or sub- 
division, of the catalog is studied with due 
regard to its relationships. It becomes as 
it were a peep-hole thru which we view a 
given group at a certain angle. The view 
is never the same twice. Now we view 
man thru the haze of distance, now in the 
clear light of perfect focus, now in the 
blurred image of close proximity. Let us 
give a practical demonstration of the value 
of the Catalog: 

60 



HOW TO USE THE PLOT CATALOG 

Our writer may peruse the Catalog, be- 
ginning with Man, proceed thru A, and get to 
the very end of I, before he feels the slightest 
stimulation. "Struggle For Individuality !" 
There is an idea. What does it mean? 
It involves the very Nature of Man. It is 
one of the Vicissitudes of Creation. It is 
actually Man himself. 

Our writer is interested. His sluggish 
mind has awakened. He wants something 
more specific. He consults the index and 
finds that Individuality is further mentioned 
under 1-8. He finds 8 teeming with sug- 
gestive developments. The sub-division it- 
self — PERSONALITY (Self) — begins to 
marshal his crowding ideas. The minor sub- 
divisions bring him yet closer to his specific 
plot material. Each one lights the way: 
(a) Individuality, (b) Identity, (c) Name, 
(d) Egotism, (e) Optimism, (f) Content- 
ment, (g) Subconscious. He feels an in- 
creasing potentiality, as tho with little or no 
imaginative effort he could fill out a complete 
picture from each one. Then he strikes the 
spark that ignites the gathered sweepings 
of his mind — (h) Dual Personality. That 
6l 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

is the open sesame. Just why, is not yet 
quite clear. His eye follows the line of pro- 
gressive sub-divisions — PRIMEVAL, etc. 
He pauses at 2. BIRTH {Origin) — that con- 
tributes data. 5. MAN or 6. WOMAN? 
He prefers that it be a man. 7. CONDI- 
TION — that bears further investigation. 
He runs his eye down the list: (a) Poverty, 
(b) Peasant, (c) Clod, (d) Slave! He is 
filled with a feeling of exultation. He has 
his story. It is to be the tale of a slave — 
in some way. Another link or two and the 
plot will be complete. 9. RACE. There is his 
man — (b) Black. One more hint is found in 
10. CUSTOMS {Conventions) of (b) Society. 
Our next step suggests itself. It implies 
the possession of a Plot Collector and File. 
We see that all data we have will be found 
in container 13*. There may be a quantity 
of clippings: " White Babes Turn Black;" 
"Negro Indorsed for Judge;" "Mob Kills 
Negro in Jail;" "The Black Madonna;" 
"200 Going Back to Africa," and "His 
Wealth Could not Make Him White." 
For reasons of our own, this last is what we 
want. We have all our data. We had not 
62 



HOW TO USE THE PLOT CATALOG 

an idea to begin with. We now set to work, 
suddenly realizing that all the data in the 
world will not make a story or a play with- 
out the master mind behind it. We began 
with the realization that the master builder 
was decidedly out of a job without a plot 
to build upon. 

{EXAMPLE 17.) The complete resultant plot from 
the above is, in brief: A young educated negro tries to 
raise his station to the level of his mind and fails — the 
white man is still the white man, the black the black, — 
it is the nature of man bound by the unbreakable shackles 
of convention — when he is almost on the verge of tragedy, 
the very barrier, the negro blood within him, saves him 
by giving him a savage enjoyment in some barbaric 
melody and with it returns the devil-may-care spirit of 
his race — his soaring spirit falls back to caste, bruised 
and bleeding, beaten by creation itself. 

Each man is a law unto himself, when it 
comes to creation. Perhaps the minds or 
imaginations of no two of us would have 
been stimulated by Man's Struggle for In- 
dividuality. Granted, that another writer 
should feel the same stimulus, it is quite 
unlikely that he would have pursued any- 
thing like the same process of seeking, find- 
ing or arranging its development. 

63 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

Thus we touch upon the very core of the 
Catalog's universality, its flexibility, its 
breadth of personal application. The Cata- 
log is no deeper, broader or higher than the 
student who employs it. It contains for 
him nothing that is not already within him. 
All it can do is to parole, unchain and set 
free the vagrant impressions that have 
swarmed the court of experience to be sen- 
tenced for life in the prison house of his 
soul, or have crowded and been left uncon- 
sidered in the dungeons and cells of his 
nether mind. 

The Plot File and Collector is such an 
important adjunct and logical sequence to 
the Catalog that the serious student has 
scarcely an alternative, other than providing 
himself with one. With the Catalog in 
hand, the File is a simple matter. 

The student will find a Universal Plot 
File and Collector advertised in this book. 
It is recommended for several important 
reasons, altho a duplicate file of the same 
dimensions may be manufactured by the 
student himself, if he is so inclined. 

First, there are two filing cases, made of 

6 4 



HOW TO USE THE PLOT CATALOG 

heavily re-inforced material, tho light in 
weight. Each case is designed to hold one 
hundred containers. The outside dimensions 
of the cases are: height iof inches; breadth, 
5 J inches; length, 12\ inches — each. The 
two cases placed together occupy a space 
I of X ioj X I2§ inches. Each case is a 
trifle larger than the ordinary business letter 
file. 

Next, come the containers which are made 
of extra-heavy paper forming special en- 
velopes open at one end. The dimensions 
of the containers are: breadth, 4f inches; 
length, I if inches. This exceeds the stand- 
ard column widths of newspaper and mag- 
azine and is more than half the height of 
the ordinary newspaper which is inevitably 
folded across the center. 

The cases have a blank label on each, 
which may be marked "A," "B," etc., by 
the user. Other cases may be added accord- 
ing to the needs of the collector without 
disorganizing the system. The cases are 
compact enough to be kept without trouble 
within the reach of the writer — on top of a 
desk, book-case or shelf. As his collection 

65 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

expands the writer merely adds cases. Thus 
there is no limit to the File's ultimate con- 
tents. The two cases hold approximately 
10,000 to 15,000 uniform items. 

There are ten sections among the two hun- 
dred containers, each section corresponding 
with a Division (identified by Roman nu- 
merals). Each section has a color of its 
own so that the containers will always be 
clearly defined in the cases and confusion 
will be avoided. Furthermore each container 
bears its individual number to correspond 
with the starred (1*, 2*, etc.) numbers that 
identify the groups of minor-divisions. 
The containers themselves also may be 
expanded indefinitely by adding containers 
where necessary and amplifying the starred 
numbers, as: i*-a, i*-b, etc. These are 
located by the original starred numbers. 
Or, those subjects contained in overflow 
containers may be definitely indicated in 
the index by adding the identifying number 
with pen or pencil. In case of additional 
envelopes, it is suggested that a list of sub- 
jects contained within shall be typed on the 
outside. 

66 



HOW TO USE THE PLOT CATALOG 

The "system" of the Plot File, however, 
may be applied with equal efficacy, without 
the afore-mentioned outfit with its specific 
dimensions. We may mention the card 
filing system, which merely requires guides 
bearing the starred numbers. The cards 
may bear the plot material, either typed or 
pasted on. Again, there are the various 
loose-leaf books which have a wide range of 
sizes. Each book might represent a starred 
number and become equivalent to a con- 
tainer. An index could otherwise be in- 
serted. 

There are other "home-made" devices 
that can be made to serve the general pur- 
pose. Ordinary envelopes, for instance, 
properly numbered and kept in their original 
paste-board box, make a file that will serve 
for a time at least, at a cost of about twenty- 
five cents. 

Not infrequently, the collector may be 
perplexed as to which classification a given 
item of material may properly belong. In 
reply to this, we will say that all plot matter 
must be viewed thru its predominant phase, 
or the phase that is most striking in its im- 

67 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

pression or workable possibilities. The view- 
point, or workability, of a clipping is paral- 
leled by the larger division captions under 
which it shall be filed. 

{EXAMPLE 18.) We find Ms clipping: "POD" 
ENTERS BERLIN IN HIS NIGHTSHIRT— Popu- 
lar General's Ludicrous Adventure on A Sleeping Car. 
Instantly, we feel that here is a character. That which 
impresses us immediately is a good guide. We consult in- 
dex and find: Character — V. — 49, 73, 91, 94. This is an 
exception; four-fifths of the subjects have but one refer- 
ence. 49. discloses that we have invaded the Vicissitude 
of ASPIRATION, thence to V.—THE CHARACTER 
OF MAN, narrowed down to 49. QUALITIES. Not 
what we want. 73. we find under DESTINY, THE 
MIND OF MAN, DERANGEMENT. There it is, 
(a) "Character, 11 just what we want. If there is any 
doubt we continue our search and find 91, HUMOR — 
EMOTIONS— FARCE. No, Pod, seemed too pathetic 
for farce. Again 94, under PATHOS, seemed too tragic 
and we revert to DERANGEMENT, our first impression. 

Some of the minor classifications may 
strike the student as being far-fetched. 
This comment is best answered by the fact 
that in nine cases out of ten actual mate- 
rial in hand suggested the classification, 
rather than that classification assumed the 
existence of consequent material. Every 
68 



HOW TO USE THE PLOT CATALOG 

phase of the Catalog is practical, having 
been experimentally perfected over a period 
of four years thru the medium of more than 
five thousand items of plot material. It 
was thru this means alone that the approx- 
imate bulk of each container could be cal- 
culated. 

(EXAMPLE 19.) Five of the seemingly most un- 
dramatic minor divisions are "materialized" thru actual 
material in hand in the following manner: 3. TIME, 
(p) Endurance — EDITORIAL, " There is great power 
in Repetition;" II. FRIENDSHIP, (a) Altruism— 
SPECIAL ARTICLE— u Big Brothering Boys Who 
Are In the Law's Grip;" 95. NATURE (p) Night— A 
POEM— lt Evenings;" 1. PRIMEVAL (f) Egyptians 
— A PICTURE from an advertisement of a pretty girl 
listening at the closed lips of the Sphinx; 60. DISEASE, 
(0) Pain — An ESS A Y with the same title, taken from a 
popular magazine. 

(EX A MPLE 20.) A few stories by well-known authors 
are classified under like "undramatic" headings: "Tim 
and Nemesis, " by James Adams — 29. (e) Nemesis; 
" Three Dreams, " by Hugh Black — 72. (h) Dreams; 
"Van Suy dan— Caveman," by Berton Braley — 1. (e) 
Cave Man; "The Enchanted Bluff," by Willa Sibert 
Cather — 95. (a) Mountains; "The Doodle Bug," 
by George Randolph Chester — 99. (x) Miscellaneous 
(ANIMALS); "Shark," by Richard Washburn Childr— 
99. (u) Shark; "The Father 'n Mother Tree," by Annie 

69 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

Hamilton Donnell — 98. (g) Tree; "The Wind,* 1 by 
Zoe Anderson N orris — 95. (g) Winds. 

In concluding, we hark back to the great 
truth underlying all art: The greater virtue 
lies not in the art works themselves — they 
are but clay or pigment, words or gestures — 
but in their power to suggest the inner 
vision, that is of the soul. 



70 



Chaos is the forerunner of panic; 
Order is the herald of power — and to 
him with controlled power God denies 
nothing! 

CHAPTER VIII 

The Universal Plot Catalog — I 

A PROGRESSIVE CATEGORY OF MAN — HIS 
VICISSITUDES, HIS DESIRES, HIS RELATION- 
SHIPS AND HIS STRUGGLES — IN WHICH ALL 
DRAMATIC CONFLICT AND PLOT MATERIAL IN 
THE UNIVERSE FIND THEIR SOURCE, LIFE OR 
END. 

MAN 
(Meaning Mankind) 

A.— ORIGIN.— The Vicissitudes of 
Creation and Re-creation 

I. The Nature of Man. 

Man's Desire for Existence, his Re- 
lations with Creation and his Strug- 
gle for Individuality. 

(Sub-Divisions I to 10.) (Filing 
Containers I* to 14*.) 

71 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

II. The Heart of Man. 

Man's Desire for Happiness, his 
Relations with Woman and his 
Struggle for his Family. 

(Sub-Divisions 1 1 to 20.) (Filing 
Containers 15* to 38*.) 



B.— ASPIRATION.— The Vicissitudes 
of Passion and Deterioration 

III. The Ambition of Man. 

Man's Desire for Position, his Re- 
lations with Society and his Strug- 
gle for Achievement. 

(Sub-Divisions 21 to 32.) (Fil- 
ing Containers 39* to 61*.) 

IV. The Might of Man. 

Man's Desire for Supremacy, his 
Relations with Antagonists and his 
Struggle for Power. 

(Sub-Divisions 33 to 46.) (Fil- 
ing Containers 62* to 86*.) 
72 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 1 

V. The Character of Man. 

Man's Desire for Luxury, his Rela- 
tions with Morality and his Strug- 
gle against Sin. 

(Sub-Divisions 47 to 56.) (Fil- 
ing Containers 87* to 125*.) 

VI. The Flesh of Man. 

Man's Desire for Health,' his Rela- 
tions with Disease and his Struggle 
against Death. 

(Sub-Divisions 57 to 62.) (Fil- 
ing Containers 126* to 137*.) 



C— DESTINY.— The Vicissitudes of 
Inquiry and the Infinite 

VII. The Mind of Man. 

Man's Desire for Knowledge, his 
Application of Reason and his 
Struggle against Ignorance. 

(Sub-Divisions 63 to 75.) (Fil- 
ing Containers 138* to 163*.) 

73 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

VIII. The Soul of Man. 

Man's Desire for Divinity, his Re- 
lations with his God and his Strug- 
gle for his Religion. 

(Sub-Divisions 76 to 90.) (Fil- 
ing Containers 139* to 180*.) 

D. — HUMOR. — The Vicissitudes of the 
Ridiculous and the Sublime 

IX. The Emotions of Man. 

Man Impassioned by the Domina- 
tion of the Ludicrous, the Stimu- 
lation of Diversion, Participation 
in Pleasure and the Stress of Pathos. 
(Sub-Divisions 91 to 94.) (Fil- 
ing Containers 181* to 191*.) 

E.— NOT-MAN 

X. The Personification of Man. 

The Humanizing of All Creation, 
Creatures and Mythology and the 
Appropriation of their Phenomena 
as Dramatic Material. 

(Sub-Divisions 95 to 100.) (Fil- 
ing Containers 192* to 200*.) 

74 



Writing becomes so easy, when we are 
given food for thought, that gluttons 
are satisfied; it is so difficult, when 
we must find thought for food, that even 
the most delicate sometimes starve. 

CHAPTER IX 

The Universal Plot Catalog — II 

MAN 
(Meaning Mankind) 

A. — ORIGIN. — The Vicissitudes of 
Creation and Re-creation 

I. The Nature of Man. 

Man's Desire for Existence, his Relations 
with Creation and his Struggle for In- 
dividuality. 

i. PRIMEVAL {Prehistoric) (e) Cave Man 

I* (a) Mythological (f) Egyptians 

(b) Missing Link (g) Aztecs 

(c) Darwinian Theory (h) Atavism 

(d) Stone Age 

* Indicates number of Container when used in con- 
junction with "The Phillips Automatic Plot Collector, 
File and Index," or in connection with privately de- 
vised File. 

75 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



a. BIRTH (Origin) 

2* (a) High 

(b) Low 

(c) First-born 

(d) Heritage 

(e) Illegitimate 

(f) Foundling 

(g) Birth Mark 
(h) Birth Day 

3. TIME (Endurance) 
3* (a) Eternity 

(b) Immemorial 

(c) Ancient 

(d) Obsolete 

(e) Time-Worn 

(f) Time Honored 

(g) Past 

(h) Tempus Fugit 

(i) The End 

(j) Nevermore 

(k) The Present 

(1) Date 

(m) Season 

(n) Epoch 

(o) The Times 

(p) Endurance 

(q) Future 

(r) Forever 

4. LIFE (Existence) 
4* (a) Breath 

(b) The Senses 

(c) Motion 

(d) Animation 

(e) To Quicken 

(f) Vitality 

(g) Longevity 
(h) Events 



76 



(i) Experience 

(j) Delineation 

(k) Ephemeral 

(1) Eternal 

(m) Biography 

5. MAN (Male) 
5* (a) Brute 

(b) Adolescence 

(c) Prime 

(d) Virility 

(e) Bachelor 

(f) Lady Killer 

(g) Woman Hater 

6* (h) Bread Winner 

(i) Lord and Master 

(j) Miscellaneous 

6. WOMAN (Female) 
7* (a) Innocence 

(b) Weakness 

(c) Beauty 

(d) Girl 

(e) Flirt 

(f) Fashion 

(g) Masquerade 
(h) Homeliness 

8* (i) Vixen 

(j) Slattern 

(k) Termagant 

(1) Squaw 

(m) With a "Past"' 

(n) Spinster 

(o) Wage Earner 

9* (p) Feminism 

(q) Suffragette 

(r) Superman 

(s) Miscellaneous 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG II 



7. CONDITION (State) 


(d) Mixture 


10* (a) Poverty 


(e) Melting Pot 


(b) Peasant 


(f) Survival of the Fit- 


(c) Clod 


test 


(d) Slave 


(g) Jew 


(e) Freeman 


(h) Russian 


(f) Citizen 


(i) Moor 


(g) Luxury 


(j) Indian 


(h) Social 


(k) Nomad 




(1) Gypsy 


8. PERSONALITY (Self) 


(m) Barbaric 


II* (a) Individuality 


(n) Civilized 


(b) Identity 


(0) Race Suicide 


(c) Name 




(d) Egotism 

(e) Optimism 

(f) Contentment 


10. CUSTOMS (Convention) 
14* (a) Sociology 
(b) Society 


12* (g) Subconscious- 


(c) Obsolete 


(h) Dual Personality 


(d) National 


(i) "Doubles" 


(e) Habit 


0') Impersonation 


(f) Taste 


(k) Puppet 


(g) Breeding 


(1) A Stranger 


(h) Chivalry 


(m) Subtlety 


(i) Fitness 


(n) Pessimism 


(j) Deference 


(0) Disposition 


(k) Imitation 


(p) Temperament 


(1) Civility 


(q) Miscellaneous 


(m) Politeness 




(n) "Women First" 


9. RACE (Species) 


(0) Mrs. Grundy 


13* (a) White 


(p) Chaperon 


(b) Black 


(q) Bohemian 


(c) Yellow 


(r) Hermit 



77 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

II. The Heart of Man. 

Man's Desire for Happiness, his Rela- 
tions with Woman and his Struggle for 
his Family. 



ii. FRIENDSHIP {Amity) 


19* (1) 


Affinity 


15* (a) 


Altruism 


(m) Sentiment 


(b) 


Charity 


(n) 


Clandestine 


(c) 


Benefaction 


(o) 


Elopement 


(d) 


Philanthropy 


(P) 


Romance 


(e) 


Neighbors 






(f) 


Congeniality 


20* (q) 


Lover 


(g) 


Comrades 


(r) 


Sweetheart 






(s) 


Courtship 


16* (h) 


Partners 


(t) 


Lothario 


(i) 


Trust 


(u) 


Worship 


(i) 


Friend in Need 


(v) 


Affianced 


(k) 


Solace 


(w) 


Love-Lorn 


(1) 


Sacrifice 


(x) 


Eternal Lover 


(m) Forgiveness 
(n) Auld Lang Syne 
(o) Souvenirs 
(p) Miscellaneous 


21* (y) 
(z) 
(A) 
(B) 


Love Letters 
Old Flame 
Rivals 
Miscellaneous 


12. LOVE (Ajfection) 


13. MARRIAGE (Wedlock) 


17* (a) 


Hungry Heart 


22* (a) 


Wedding 


(b) 


Infatuation 


(b) 


Secret 


(c) 


Trysts 


(c) 


Gifts 


(d) 


Moonshine 


(d) 


Remarriage 


(e) 


The Kiss 


(e) 


Runaway- 


(0 


Mother 


(f) 


Mock- 






(g) 


Morganatic 


18* (g) 


Father 


(h) 


Intermarriage 


(h) 
(i) 


Filial 
Platonic 


(i) 


Miscegenation 


G) 


Free Love 


23* (i) 


For Name 


(k) 


Illicit 


(k) 


For Money 



78 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG — II 



(1) 


For Beauty 


15. CHILDREN (and 


(m) Honeymoon 


Life) 


(n) 


Husband 


28* (a) Baby 


(o) 


Wife 


(b) Nurse 

(c) Innocence 


24* (P) 
(q) 

(r) 
(s) 


Happy 
Blunder 
Mesalliance 
Deception 


(d) Heir 

(e) Twins 

(f) Son 

(g) Daughter 


(t) 
(u) 


Polygamy 
Harem 


29* (h) Only Child 
(i) Spoiled 
(j) Incorrigible 


25* (v) 


Obedience 


(k) Escapade 


(w) Fidelity 


(1) Runaway 


(x) 


Childless 


(m) Stowaway 


(y) 


Cruelty 


(n) Mischief 


(z) 


Martyr 


(0) Favorite 


(A) 


Annulment 




(B) 


Miscellaneous 


30* (p) Orphan 
(q) Adoption 


14. PARENTHOOD (Fore- 
bears) 
26* (a) Ancestor Worship 


(r) Step-Child 

(s) Loneliness 

(t) Martyr 

(u) Lost 

(v) Urchin 

(w) Cripple 

(x) Precocity 

(y) Defective 

(z) Ugly Duckling 


(b) 

(c) 
(d) 
(e) 
(f) 


Patriarch 
Grand Parent 
Parental Instinct 
Eugenics 
Father 






(A) Peacemaker 


27* (g) 


Maternity 


(B) Hero 


(h) 


Mother 


(C) Santa Claus 


(i) 


Step-Mother 


(D) Child Labor 


(J) 


Sacrifice 


(E) Miscellaneous 


(k) 


Loneliness 




(1) 


Forsaken 


16. FAMILY (Kin) 


(m) Age 


31* (a) Ancestry 


(n) 


Miscellaneous 


(b) Heirlooms 



Child 



79 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



(c) 


Name 


18. SEPARATION (and Pari- 


(d) 


Traditions 


ing) 


(e) 


Children 


35* (a) Wanderlust 


(0 


Brothers 


(b) Runaway 


(g) 


Sisters 


(c) Fugitive 


GO 


-in-Laws 


(d) Exile 


(i) 


Likeness 


(e) Immigrant 


(J) 


Ties 


(f) Lost 


(k) 


Customs 


(g) Rejection 
(h) Expulsion 


32* (1) 


Felicity 


(i) Jilt 


(m) Sacrifice 


(j) Exclusion 


(n) 
(o) 
(P) 
(q) 
(r) 
(s) 
(t) 
(u) 


Posterity 

-Secrets 

"Skeletons 

Black Sheep 

Squabbles 

Intrigue 

Feud 

Miscellaneous 


36* (k) Infelicity 

(1) Estrangement 
(m) Alienation 
(n) Unfaithfulness 
(0) Betrayal 
(p) Desertion 
(q) Irrevocable 
(r) Co-Respondent 


17. HOME {Habitation) 

33* (a) Home Seekers 

(b) Home-Making 


(s) Divorce 
(t) Widowhood 
(u) Miscellaneous 


(c) 


Home-Body 


19. COMMUNICATION (or 


(d) 


Home Town 


Reminder) 


(e) 


Fireside 


37* (a) Message 


(f) 


Refuge 


(b) News 


(g) 


No place like — 


(c) Letters 

(d) Telescope 


34* (h) 


Nostalgia 


(e) Heliograph 


(i) 


Back Home 


(f) Pigeon 


(i) 


Effect of Suffrage 


(g) Telepathy 


(k) 


Mortgage 


(h) Signals 


(1) 


Eviction 


(i) Code 


(m) Auction 


(j) Matchmaker 


(n) 


Fire 


(k) Memory 


(0) 


Homeless 


(1) Music 


(P) 


Miscellaneous 


(m) Relics 



80 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG — II 



20. RE-UNION (Rejoining) 
38* (a) Remorse 

(b) Forgiveness 

(c) Passer-By 

(d) Return 



(e) Back to the Farm 

(f) Re-Union 

(g) Rejuvenation 
(h) Explanations 



B.— ASPIRATION.— The Vicissitudes of 
Passion and Deterioration 

III. The Ambition of Man. 

Man's Desire for Position, his Rela- 
tions with Society and his Struggle for 
Achievement. 



21. ADVENTURE (Exploit) 

39* (a) Adventurer 

(b) Adventuress 

(c) Heroine 

(d) Incognito 

(e) Speculation 

(f) Mystery 

40* (g) Warning 

(h) Pitfalls 

(i) Hazard 

(j) Foolhardy 

(k) Peril 

(1) Tribulation 

(m) Rescue 

(n) Escape 

41* (o) Exploration 

(p) Savages 

(q) Cannibals 

(r) Quicksands 

(s) Pioneer 



8l 



(t) Colonist 

(u) Wild West 

(v) Hunter 

(w) Mountain Climber 

(x) Miscellaneous 

22. FAILURE (Impotency) 

42* (a) Inefficient 

(b) Blunder 

(c) Mishap 

(d) Indolence 

(e) Plodder 

(f) In the Rut 

43* (g) Mollycoddle 

(h) Ne'er-do-Well 

(i) Scape Goat 

(j) Debt 

(k) Bankruptcy 

(1) Disgrace 

(m) Broken Heart 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



44* (n) Poverty 


(b) 


In Business 


(o) Pawnbroker 


(c) 


In Politics 


(p) Bread Line 


(d) 


In Sport 


(q) Derelict 


(e) 


Oratory 


(r) Saloon 


(f) 


Advantage 


(s) Crime 


(g) 


Handicap 


(t) Salvation Army 


(h) 


Discrimination 


(u) Relapse 


(i) 


Corporation 


(v) Ruin 


G) 


Monopoly 


(w) Miscellaneous 








26. OPPOl 


23. AVOCATION {Occupa- 


48* (a) 


"Knocks but Once" 


tion) 


(b) 


Opening 


45* (a) Profession 


(c) 


Crisis 


(b) Business 


(d) 


Now 


(c) Politics 


(e) 


In Season 


(d) Labor 


(0 


Critical 


(e) Crook 


(g) 


Propitious 


(f) Do-Nothing 


(h) 


Coincidence 


(g) Beggar 


(i) 


Opportunist 


(h) Mountebank 


G) 


Man of the Hour 


(i) Sinecure 






(j) Executioner 


49* (k) 


Wasted- 


(k) Servant 


(1) 


Tempus Fugit 




(m) Too Late 


24. VOCATION (Call) 


(n) 


Yesterday 


46* (a) Religious 


(0) 


Persistence 


(b) Artist 


(P) 


Abide 


(c) Warrior 


(Q) 


Providential 


(d) Actor 


(r) 


Luck 


(e) Service 


(s) 


Progress 


(f) Propagandist 


(t) 


Tomorrow 


(g) Suffragist 


(u) 


Future 


(h) Agitator 


(v) 


Miscellaneous 


(i) Crusade 








27. SUCCESS (Achievement) 


25. COMPETITION (Rival- 


50* (a) 


Poteniiality 


ry) 


(b) 


Luck 


47* (a) Professional 


(c) 


Merit 



82 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG — II 



(d) Thrift 

(e) Honesty 

(f) The Cost 

(g) Artistic 
(h) Material 

Si* (i) Uplifting 

(j) Degrading 

(k) Credit 

(1) Reward 

(m) Diploma 

(n) Medal 

(0) Champion 
(p) Miscellaneous 

28. NOTORIETY (Publicity) 
52* (a) Plaudits 

(b) In Print 

(c) The Press 

(d) Editorial 

(e) Reportorial 

(f) Advertisement 

(g) "Personal" 
(h) Anecdote 

53* (i) Conceit 

(j) Unsavory 

(k) Tell-Tale 

(1) Gossip 
(m) Scandal 

(n) False Report 

(o) A Bubble 

(p) Tragical 

(q) Miscellaneous 

29. AMBITION (or Aspira- 

tion) 

54* (a) Lure 

(b) Selfish- 



(c) Praise 

(d) Career 

(e) Nemesis 

(f) Fame 

55* (g) Land 

(h) Wealth 

(i) Clothes 

(j) Society 

(k) Family 

(1) Tide 

(m) Leadership 

(n) Throne 

(o) Miscellaneous 

30. SOCIETY (Position) 

56* (a) The Pillars 

(b) The Bonds 

(c) Caste 

(d) "400" 

(e) Peer 

(f) Beau 

(g) BeUe 



57* (W 
(i) 
(j) 

(k) 
0) 



(o) 
(P) 
(q) 
(r) 
(s) 
(t) 



Hollowness 

Iconoclast 

Parasite 

Climber 

Snob 
(m) Cad 
(n) Pariah 

The Masses 

The Dregs 

Vassal 

Peon 

Slave 

Miscellaneous 



83 



31. STATION (Rank) 

58* (a) Royalty 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



(b) 


Hierarchy 


(c) 


Aristocracy 


(d) 


Nobility 


(e) 


Ruler 


(f) 


President 


(g) 


Prince 


59* 00 


Statesman 


(i) 


Official 


(J) 


Pedigree 


(k) 


Pride 


0) 


Pomp 


(m) Homage 


(n) 


Satellite 


(o) 


Lese Majeste 


(P) 


Miscellaneous 


32. FAME {Renown) 


60* (a) 


In Government 



(b) In Art 

(c) In Letters 

(d) War 

(e) Science 

(f) Exploration 

(g) Commerce 
(h) Church 

61* (i) Contemporaneous 

0') — over Night 

(k) Glory 

(1) Honor 

(m) Masterpiece 

(n) Parnassus 

(0) Will-o'-the-Wisp 

(p) Suppressed 

(q) Posthumous 

(r) Miscellaneous 



IV. The Might of Man. 

Man's Desire for Supremacy, his Rela- 
tions with Antagonists and his Struggle 
for Power. 



33. POWER {Dominion) 


(1) Dictator 


62* (a) Monarchy 


(m) Usurper 


(b) Hierarchy 


(n) Potentate 


(c) Oligarchy 


(0) Mogul 


(d) Plutocracy 


(p) Chief 


(e) Democracy 




(f) Emperor 


64* (q) Aristocrat 


(g) King 


(r) Political- 


(h) Pope 


(s) Demagog 


(i) Doge 


(t) Padrone 




(u) Master 


63* 0) Tyrant 


(v) Slave Driver 


(k) Despot 


(w) Miscellaneous 



84 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG — H 



34. PARTY {Faction) 

65* (a) Side 

(b) Alliance 

(c) League 

(d) Fraternity 

(e) Brotherhood 

(f) Committee 

(g) Cabal 
(h) Clique 

66* (i) Club 

(j) Crew 

(k) Posse 

(1) Band 

(m) Clan 

(n) Tribe 

(0) Canaille 
(p) Horde 

(q) Miscellaneous 

35- DISCORD {Dissension) 

67* (a) Labor 

(b) Unemployed 

(c) Agitator 

(d) Socialism 

(e) Boycott 

(f) Sabotage 

(g) Malcontent 
(h) Discontent 

68* (i) Instigation 

(j) Public Opinion 

(k) Unrest 

(1) Quarrels 
(m) Insult 
(n) Enemies 
(0) Division 
(p) Vox Populi 
(q) License 

(r) Miscellaneous 



85 



36. COMBAT {Fight) 
69* (a) Hand-to-Hand 

(b) Drunken 

(c) Gang 

(d) Fray 

(e) Duel 

(f) Tourney 

(g) Feud 

(h) — of Tongues 

(i) Pugilist 

(j) Gladiator 

37. REVOLT (Rising) . 
70* (a) Strike 

(b) Mob 

(c) Violence 

(d) Riot 

(e) Bombs 

(f) Dynamite 

(g) Assassination 

71* (h) Surlrage- 
(i) Race- 
CD Mutiny 
(k) Vendetta 
(1) Pretender 
(m) Anarchy 
(n) Call to Arms 
(o) Militia 
(p) Miscellaneous 

38. PATRIOTISM (Amor 

Patrice) 

72* (a) The Flag 

(b) Anthem 

(c) Loyalty 

(d) Defiance 

(e) Fanatic 

(f) Sacrifice 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



(g) 


Woman's- 


76* (k) Ultimatum 


w 


Hero 


(1) Mobilization 


G) 


Martyr 


(m) Internment 


G) 


Alarms 


(n) Passport 


GO 


Traitor 


(0) Defence 
(p) Aid 


39. SOLDIER (.Combatant) 


(q) Campaign 


73* (a) 


Recruit 


(r) War Dance 


(b) 


Officer 


(s) Miscellaneous 


(c) 


Countersign 




(d) 


Sentinel 


41. BATTLE (Conflict) 


(e) 


Scout 


77* (a) Army 


G) 


Amazon 


(b) Land 


(g) 


Courage 


(c) Naval 


(b) 


Heroism 


(d) Aerial 


G) 


Veteran 


(e) Challenge 

(f) Skirmish 


74* (j) 


Conscript 


(g) Battle-Cry 
(h) Charge 


GO 


Sharpshooter 


(i) Raid 


0) 


Wire-tapper 




(m) Spy 


78* G) Attack 


(n) 


Mercenary 


(k) Ambush 


(0) 


Renegade 


(1) Strategy 


(P) 


White Feather 


(m) Trenches 


(q) 


Coward 


(n) Under Fire 


« 


Miscellaneous 


(0) Siege 
(p) Mine 


40. WAR (Hostilities) 


(q) Gas 


75* (a) 


International 


(r) Blunder 


(b) 


Internecine 


(s) At Bay 


(c) 


Rebellion 


(t) Miscellaneous 


(d) 


Revolution 




(e) 


Invasion 


42. VICTORY (Conquest) 


G) 


Expedition 


79* (a) Armageddon 


(g) 


Intervention 


(b) Triumph 


(b) 


Tribal 


(c) Conqueror 


G) 


Religious 


(d) Remedy 


G) 


Red Cross 


(e) Reformation 



86 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG — H 



(f) Liberty 


(g) Cruelty 


(g) Union 


(h) Slavery 




(i) Rape 


80* (h) Rescue 


(j) Horror 


(i) Reward 




(j) Territory 


84* (k) Destroyer 


(k) Avenger 


(1) Doom 


(1) Plunder 


(m) Scalps 


(m) Hostage 


(n) Massacre 


(n) Miscellaneous 


(0) Execution 




(p) Death 


43. SUBJUGATION (Defeat) 


(q) Extermination 


81* (a) Defeat 


(r) Ghouls 


(b) Surrender 


(s) Miscellaneous 


(c) The Bitterness 




(d) Abdication 


45. PEACE (Concord) 


(e) Dispersion 


85* (a) Diplomacy 


(f) Taxation 


(b) Arbitration 


(g) Loot 


(c) Mediation 


(h) Retribution 


(d) Neutrality 




(e) Truce 


82* (i) Captive 


(f) Treaty 


0) Prison 


(g) Pacification 


(k) Dungeon 


(h) Peace-Maker 


(1) Ransom 


(i) Peace Offering 


(m) Exchange 


(j) Forgiveness 


(n) Parole 


(k) Reconstruction 


(0) Escape 


(1) Industries 


(p) Fugitive 


(m) Rebuilding 


(q) Exile 


(n) Prosperity 


(r) Miscellaneous 


(0) Education 




(p) Recreation 


44. CALAMITY (Affliction) 


(q) Art 


83* (a) Revenge 




(b) "Qui Sauve Peut" 


46. HISTORY (Record) 


(c) Wounds 


86* (a) Myth 


(d) Pillage 


(b) Legend 


(e) Devastation 


(c) Antiquarian 


(f) Famine 


(d) Research 



87 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



(e) Discovery 

(f) — Repeats Itself 

(g) Anniversary 



(h) Reminiscence 
(i) Chronology 
(j) Statistics 



V. The Character of Man. 

Man's Desire for Luxury, his Relations 
with Morality and his Struggle against 
Sin. 



47- MONEY {Wealth) 




(z) 


Pauper 


87* (a) 


Gold 




(A) 


Alms 


(b) 


Property 




(B) 


Beggary 


(c) 


Fortune 




(C) 


Miscellaneous 


(d) 


Jewels 








(e) 


Thrift 


48. 


TEMPTATION {Entice- 


(f) 


Luck 




ment) 


(g) 


Heir 


90 


*(a) 


Money 


(h) 


Plutocrat 




(b) 


Luxury 


(i) 


Idle Rich 




(c) 


Glory 


0*) 


Parvenu 




(d) 

(e) 


Graft 
Forgery 


88* (k) 


Buried Treasure 




(f) 


Fraud 


(I) 


Ransom 




(g) 


Bribe 


(m) Munificent 




(h) 


Speculation 


(n) 


Speculation 




(i) 


Gems 


(0) 


Spendthrift 








(P) 


Misfortune 


9i 


*(j) 


Woman 


(q) 


Lost Fortune 




(k) 


Glitter 


(r) 


Land-Poor 




(1) 


Pleasure 








(m) Empty Promises 


89* (s) 


Debt 




(n) 


Snare 


(t) 


Miser 




(0) 


The City 


(u) 


Stingy 




(P) 


Starvation 


(v) 


Money Lender 




(q) 


Miscellaneous 


(w) Loan Shark 








(x) 


Stranded 


49- 


CHARj 


(y) 


Hireling 


92 


"(a) 


Psychology of — 



88 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG H 



(b) Endowment 

(c) Principles 

(d) "Blood Will Tell" 

(e) Noblesse Oblige 

(f) Thorobred 

(g) Quality 
(h) Backbone 

(i) Environment 

0) Type 

93* (k) Strong 

(1) Honor 

(m) Loyalty 

(n) Generosity 

(o) Good Name 

(p) Compassion 

(q) Gentleness 

(r) Deeds 

(s) Hard 

(t) Meanness 

(u) Weak 

(v) Ingrate 

(w) Loafer 

(x) Degenerate 

(y) Miscellaneous 

50. ERROR (Foible) 

94* (a) Gossip 

(b) Eavesdropper 

(c) Tell-Tale 

(d) Liar 

(e) Scandal 

(f) Sharp Tongue 

(g) Temper 
(h) Profanity 

95* (i) Vanity 
(j) Greed 
(k) Covetousness 



89 



(1) Envy 
(m) Jealousy 

(n) Prejudice 

(0) Hatred 

(p) Hard Heart 

(q) Misanthrope 

96* (r) Deceit 

(s) Perversity 

(t) Grafter 

' (u) Wanderlust 

(v) Clothes 

(w) Gourmand 

(x) Tobacco 

(y) Miscellaneous 

Si. PASSION (Lust) 

97* (a) Evil- 

(b) Taint 

(c) Degenerate 

(d) — for Combat 

(e) Brute 

(f) Revenge 

98* (g) For Money 
(h) « Kleptomania 

(i) Gambler 

(j) Pyromaniac 

99* (k) Habit 

(1) Drink 
(m) Drugs 

100* (n) Sex 

(o) Vampire 

(p) "Needle" 

(q) "Wild Oats" 

(r) Orgy 

(s) Whiteslave 





;THE UNIVERSAL 


PLOT CATALOG 


(t) 


Prostitute 


(B) 


"Fence" 


(u) 


Miscellaneous 


(C) Loot 

(D) Victim 


52. crim: 


(E) Mystery 


ioi*(a) 


Psychology of — 


(F) Miscellaneous 


(b) 


The Underworld 






(c) 


Unregenerate 


53. DETECTION (Discovery) 






no* (a) 


Police 


102* (d) 


Thief 


(b) 


Pedigree 


(e) 


Burglar 


(c) 


Third Degree 


(f) 


Shop-Lifter 


(d) 


Frame-Up 


103* (g) 


Blackmailer 


ux*(e) 


Detective 


(h) 


Black Hand 


(0 


Clue 


(i) 


Kidnapper 


(g) 


Disguise 


0) 


Dynamiter 


(h) 
(i) 


Dictograph 
Deduction 


104* (k) 


Hold-Up 


(J) 


Induction 


(1) 


Bandit 






(m) Outlaw 


112* (k) 


Confession 






(1) 


Squealer 


105* (n) 


Murderer 


(m) State's Evidence 


(0) 


Assassin 


(n) 


Betrayal 






(0) 


Decoy 


106* (p) 


White Slaver 


(P) 


Accusation 


(q) 


Fire Bug 






(r) 


Bunco Steerer 


113* (q) 


Double Life 


(s) 


Counterfeiter 


(r) 


Conscience 


(t) 


Gangster 


(s) 


Guilt 






(t) 


Innocence 


107* (u) 


Rustler 






(v) 


Moonshiner 


114* (u) 


Pawnbroker 


(w) 


Poacher 


(v) 


Raid 






(w) Fugitive 


108* (x) 


Pirate 


M 


Reward 


(y) 


Smuggler 


(y) 


Finger-Print 


109* (z) 


Plot 


"5* (z) 


Scar 


(A) Confederate 


(A) Identification 



90 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG — H 



(B) Capture 

(C) Exposure 

(D) Miscellaneous 

54. THE LAW {Restraint) 

116* (a) Technicalities 

(b) Evasion 

(c) Within the — 

(d) Man-Made- 

(e) The Unwritten- 

(f) Justice 

(g) Injustice 
(h) Errors 

117* (i) Law Suit 

Q) Trial 

(k) Defence 

(1) The Bench 

(m) Judge 

(n) Recall 

118* (o) District Attorney 

(p) Lawyer 

(q) Cross Examination 

(r) Witness 

(s) Evidence 

(t) Death Sign 

(u) Bribery 

(v) Perjury 

119* (w) Children's Court 

(x) Arrest 

(y) Prisoner 

(z) Old Offender 

(A) Bail 

(B) Jury 

(C) Acquittal 

(D) Conviction 

(E) Miscellaneous 



55. PUNISHMENT (Correc- 

tion) 
120* (a) Vigilantes 

(b) Vengeance 

(c) Lynching 

(d) Innocent 

(e) Vicarious 

121* (f) Protectory 

(g) Reformatory 

(h) Workhouse 

(i) Prison 

(j) Prison Reform 

(k) Dungeon 

(1) The Hulks 

(m) Galleys 

(n) Warden 

(o) Keeper 

122* (p) Discipline 

(q) Chastisement 

(r) Pillory 

(s) Execution 

(t) Guillotine 

(u) Garotte 

(v) The Ax 

(w) Gibbet 

(x) The Chair 

123* (y) Convict 

(z) First Offense 

(A) Serf 

(B) Escape 

(C) Fugitive 

(D) For Life 

(E) Miscellaneous 

56. REGENERATION (Re- 

habilitation) 
124* (a) Operation 



91 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



(b) Conscience 

(c) Repentance 

(d) Remorse 

(e) Trusty 

(f) Parole 

(g) Pardon 

125* (h) Release 



(i) Reformation 

(j) Ex- Convict 

(k) A "Past" 

(1) Branded 

(m) Shame 

(n) Retribution 

(o) Miscellaneous 



VI. The Flesh of Man. 

Man's Desire for Health, his Relations 
with Disease and his Struggle against 
Death. 



57. HEALTH {Soundness) 


(1) Crime 


126* (a) Bill of — 


(m) Blight 


(b) Eugenics 




(c) Cleanliness 


59. REMEDY (Alleviation) 


(d) Sanitation 


128* (a) Prohibition 


(e) Salubrity 


(b) Safety First 


(f) Youth 


(c) First Aid 


(g) Bloom 


(d) Doctor 


(h) Beauty 


(e) Medicine 


(i) Joy 


(f) Nurse 




(g) Hospital 


58. VIOLATION (Abuse) 


(h) X-Ray 


127* (a) Uncleanness 


(i) Operation 


(b) Sloven 


(j) Anesthetic 


(c) Slattern 


(k) Radium 


(d) Contamination 


(1) Convalescence 


(e) Pollution 


(m) Recreation 


(f) Habits 


(n) Suggestion 


(g) Dissipation 


(0) Shock 


(h) Worry 


(p) Love 


(i) Inanition 


(q) Panacea 


(j) Decline 


(r) Quacks 


(k) Impurity 





92 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG II 



60. DISEASE {Penalty) 


(0) 


By Fire 


129* (a) 


Microbes 


(P) 


By Water 


(b) 


Infection 


(q) 


In Battle 


(c) 


Contagion 


(r) 


Foul Play 


(d) 


Heredity 


(s) 


Cruelty 


(e) 


Sins of the Father 


(t) 


Frightened to — 


(f) 


Venereal 


(u) 


Execution 


(g) 


Plague 


(v) 


Miscellaneous 


ft) 


White Plague 






(i) 


Leprosy 


62. POST MORTEM {After 


0) 


Pest House 


Death) 






133* (a) 


Corpse 


130* (k) 


Dwarf 


(b) 


Mummy 


(1) 


Hunchback 


(c) 


Skeleton 


(m) Cripple 






(n) 


Blindness 


134* (d) 


Lying in State 


(0) 


Pain 


(e) 


Death Watch 


(P) 


Stoic 


(f) 


Wake 


(q) 


Age 


(g) 


Undertaker 


(r) 


Relapse 


(h) 


Coffin 


(s) 


Incurable 


(i) 


Funeral 


(t) 


Miscellaneous 


0") 


Mourners 






(k) 


Hearse 


61. DEATH {Extinction) 






131* (a) 


Mortality 


135* (1) 


Morgue 


(b) 


Natural 


(m) Charnel House 


(c) 


Death Bed 


(n) 


Tomb 


(d) 


Resuscitation 


(0) 


Vault 


(e) 


Death House 


(P) 


Catacombs 


(f) 


Broken Heart 


(q) 


Cemetery 


(g) 


Martyr 


(r) 


Potter's Field 


00 


Vicarious 


(s) 


Burial 


(i) 


Error 


(t) 


Cremation 


(J) 


Starvation 


(u) 


Burning Ghat 






(v) 


Ashes 


132* (k) 


Violence 






(1) 


Suicide 


136* (w) 


Ghouls 


(m) 


Poison 


(x) 


Exhumation 


(n) 


Accident 


(y) 


Cadaver 



93 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



(z) Dissection 

(A) Epitaphs 

(B) Posthumous 

(C) Legally Dead 

137* (D) Obituary 

(E) Will 

(F) Insurance 



(G) Estate 
(H) Heirs 
(I) Heirlooms 
(J) Intestate 
(K) Destitution 
(L) Widows 
(M) Orphans 
(N) Miscellaneous 



C— DESTINY.— The Vicissitudes of 
Inquiry and the Infinite 

VII. The Mind of Man. 

Man's Desire for Knowledge, his 
Application of Reason and his Strug- 
gle against Ignorance. 



63. PROBLEMS (Questions) 




(c) Dreams 


138* (a) Cause and Effect 




(d) Meteors 


(b) Enigma 




(e) Talisman 


(c) Cui Bono 




(f) Luck 


(d) FreeWill 




(g) Hoodoo 


(e) Religion 




(h) "13" 


(f) Science 






(g) Ethics 


140 


* (i) Myths 


(h) Law 




(j) Haunted 


(i) Social 




(k) Ghosts 


(j) Race 




(1) Banshee 


(k) Economic 




(m) Witches 


(1) Labor 




(n) Enchanted 


(m) — of the Day 




(0) Cursed 

(p) Miscellaneous 


64. SUPERSTITION (Credu- 






lity) 


65. 


CHARLATANISM (De- 


139* (a) Omens 




ception) 


(b) Evil Portents 


141 


* (a) Magic 



94 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG — H 



(b) 

(c) 



Necromancy 
Black Art 



(d) Astrology 



(e) 
(f) 



(e) 
(0 
(g) 



Crystal Gazing 
Palmistry 
Fortune Telling 



Discovery 
Chemistry 
(g) Astronomy 
(h) Physics 
Electricity 
Radium 



(h) Voodoo 

(i) Fraud 

(j) Oracle 

(k) Divining Rod 

(1) Luckstone 

(m) Cults 

(n) Sophistry 

66. INQUIRY (Education) 
142* (a) Ignorance 

(b) Instinct 

(c) Curiosity 

(d) Incredulity 

(e) Expression 

(f) Renascence 

(g) College 
(h) Books 

143* (i) Teacher 

(j) Student 

(k) Co-Ed 

(1) Scholar 

(m) School Days 

(n) Pedant 

(o) Over-Education 

(p) Alumni 

(q) Miscellaneous 

67. SCIENCE (Knowledge) 
144* (a) Scientist 

(b) Inventor 

(c) Experiment 

(d) Test 



G) 
G) 



(k) Phonograph 
(1) Sacrifice 
(m) Rewards 



68. REASON (Intellect) 


145* (a) 


Intuition 


(b) 


Thought 


(c) 


Theory 


(d) 


Credulity 


(e) 


Conviction 


(0 


Wisdom 


(g) 


Reason 


(h) 


Sagacity 


(i) 


Genius 


G) 


Profundity 


(k) 


Opinion 


(1) 


Propaganda 


(m) Argument 


(n) 


Debate 


(0) 


Wit 


(P) 


Stupidity 



95 



69. LITERATURE 
tional History) 
146* (a) Literati 

(b) Author 

(c) Hack 

(d) Editor 

(e) Struggles 
Inspiration 
Masterpiece 
Plagiarism 



(0 
(g) 
(h) 



(Emo- 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



147* (i) Grammar 

(j) Rhetoric 

(k) Phrase 

(1) Style 

(m) Expression 

(n) Power 

(0) Description 
(p) Belles Lettres 
(q) Journalism 

148* (r) Manuscript 

(s) Letters 

(t) Diary 

(u) Copy 

(v) Publication 

(w) Fiction 

(x) Poetry 

(y) Drama 

(z) Essay 

(A) Learning 

149* (B) Books 

(C) Tracts 

(D) Magazines 

(E) Novel 

(F) Short Story 

(G) Melodrama 
(H) Reading 

(1) Book-Worm 
(J) Library 

(K) Miscellaneous 

70. ROMANCE (Day Dreams) 

150* (a) Fancy 

(b) Reveries 

(c) Castles in Spain 

(d) Make-Believe 

(e) Supposition 

(f) Expectation 

(g) Exaggeration 



96 



151* (h) Idealism 

(i) Arcadia 

(j) Utopia 

(k) Golden Age 

(1) Poetry 

(m) Dark Ages 

(n) Middle Ages 

(0) Chivalry 
(p) Knights 

(q) Troubadours 

(r) Cavalier 

(s) Adventure 

152* (t) Juvenile 
(u) Fairies 
(v) Youth 
(w) The Dreamer 
(x) Love 
(y) Love Potion 
(z) Witching Hour 

(A) Old Age 

(B) By-Gones 

(C) Miscellaneous 

71. SUGGESTION {Fascina- 
tion) 
153* (a) Auto- 

(b) Hypnotism 

(c) Domination 

(d) Fear 

(e) Men are like Sheep 

(f) Panic 

(g) Guilt 
(h) A Curse 

(i) The Senses 

154* (j) Sentiment 

(k) Reminiscence 1 

(1) Memories 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG — II 



(m) Music 


(0) Despair 


(n) 


A Song 


(p) Memories 


(o) 


Springtime 


(q) Aphasia 


(P) 


Solitude 




(q) 


Allegory 


158* (r) Obsession 


(r) 


Miscellaneous 


(s) Brain Storm 
(t) Hysteria 


72. PSYCHIC {Metaphysics) 


(u) Delirium 


155* (a) 


Occult 


(v) Idiot 


(b) 


Supernatural 


(w) Alienist 


(c) 


Mystery 




(d) 


Psychology 


159* (x) Insanity 


(e) 


"Gifts" 


(y) Asylum 


(0 


Prophecy 


(z) Mistake 


(g) 


Premonition 


(A) Maniac 


(h) 


Dreams 


(B) Miscellaneous 


(i) 


Telepathy 




G) 


Fate 


74. TRUTH (Enlightenment) 


(k) 


Zodiac 


160* (a) Authentic 


(1) 


Miracles 


(b) Certainty 


(m) Sleep 


(c) Exactitude 






(d) Positiveness 


73. DERANGEMENT (Dis- 


(e) Definite 


order) 


(f) Infallible 


156* (a) 


"Character" 


(g) Inviolable 


(b) 


Visionary 


(h) Genuine 


(c) 


Freak 


(i) Orthodox 


(d) 


Fanatic 


(j) Absolute 


(e) 


Crank 


(k) Ultimate 


(f) 


Defective 




(g) 


Age 


161* (1) Knowledge 
(m) Mathematics 


157* (« 


Insomnia 


(n) Deduction 


(i) 


Somnambulism 


(0) Disclosure 


(J) 


Voices 


(p) Realism 


(k) 


Nostalgia 


(q) Veracity 


a) 


Melancholia 


(r) Bona Fide 


(m) Moodiness 


(s) Literal 


(n) 


Fear 


(t) Plain Dealing 



97 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



162* 



(u) Outspoken 


(h) Consequence 


(v) Unvarnished 


(i) Harvest 


(w) Sincerity 




(x) Miscellaneous 


163* (j) Fatalism 




(k) Hazard 


FATE {Destiny) 


(1) Accident 


(a) Predestination 


(m) Lot 


(b) Will of God 


(n) Nemesis 


(c) Chance 


(0) Irrevocable 


(d) Luck 


(p) Inexorable 


(e) Necessity 


(q) Doom 


(f) Inevitable 


(r) End 


(g) Effect 


(s) Miscellaneous 



VIII. The Soul of Man. 

Man's Desire for Divinity, his Re- 
lations with his God and his Struggle 
for his Religion. 



76. REVELATION {The 


(b) Christian 


Word) 


(e) Mohammedan 


164* (a) 


Nature 


(d) Buddhist 


(b) 


The Bible 


(e) Confucianism 


(c) 


Talmud 


(f) Shintoism 


(d) 


Koran 


(g) Sun Worshippers 


(e) 


Creator 


(h) Pantheism 


(0 


Prophets 


(i) Theology 


(g) 


The Messiah 


(j) Doctrine 


(h) 


Commandments 


(k) Orthodox 


(i) 


Beatitudes „ 




(j) 


Visions 


78. ORGANIZATION 


(k) 


Oracle 


{Church) 


(1) 


Providence 


166* (a) Synagogue 
(b) Temple 


77. INTERPRETATION 


(c) Mosque 


{Creed) 


(d) Catholic 


165* (a) 


Jew 


(e) Greek 



98 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG — II 



(f) Anglican 


80. 


INSPIRATION (Compre- 


(g) Protestant 




hension) 


(h) Non-Conformist 


169* ( 


(i) Huguenot 




(b) Revelation 


(j) Quaker 




(c) Christ 


(k) Christian Science 




(d) The Cross 


(1) Mormon 




(e) Mohammed 


(m) Salvation Army 




(f) Evangelists 


(n) Edifice 




(g) Sermon 


79. CONSECRATION 




(h) Propaganda 
(i) Works 


(Priest) 






167* (a) Patriarch 






(b) "Call" 


81. 


RECOLLECTION (Con- 


(c) Renunciation 




science) 


(d) Seminary 


170* (a) Conscience 


(e) Consecration 




(b) Temptation 


(f) The Cloth 




(c) — Ignored 


(g) Deacon 




(d) Backslider 


(h) Minister 




(e) Pariah 


(i) Preacher 




(f) Remorse 


(j) Parish 




(g) Revivals 


(k) Flock 




(h) Regeneration 


(1) Woman 




(i) Atonement 


(m) Unfrock 






(n) Rabbi 


82. 


CONVICTION (Faith) 


168* (0) Priest 


17] 


c* (a) Miracles 


(p) Early Fathers 




(b) Lourdes 


(q) Monk 




(c) Healing 


(r) Jesuit 




(d) Conversion 


(s) Trappist 




(e) Proselyte 


(t) Cure 




(f) Disciple 


(u) Nun 




(g) Confession 


(v) Celibacy 




(h) Absolution 


(w) Vows 




(i) Hope 


(x) Bishop 




0) Blind 


(y) Cardinal 




(k) —that Will Move 


(z) Pope 




Mountains 


(A) Miscellaneous 




G) Martyrs 



99 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



83. RELIGION (Works) 
172* (a) Godliness 

(b) Duty 

(c) Penance 

(d) Sacrifice 

(e) Purity 
(£) Humility 
(g) Forgiveness 
(h) Mercy 

G) Charity 

(j) Alms 

(k) Missionaries 

173* (1) Brotherhood 
(m) Christmas 
(n) Peace 

(0) Miscellaneous 

84. DEVOTION (Worship) 

174* (a) Worship 

(b) Adoration 

(c) Prayer 

(d) Intercession 

(e) Virgin Mary 

(f) Shrines 

(g) Mass 

(h) Sacraments 

(i) Ritual 

(j) Service 

(k) Praise 

(1) Incense 
(m) Holy Days 
(n) Last Rites 

85. VISION (Romance) 
175* (a) Prophets 

(b) Visions 

(c) Saints 

(d) Martyrs 



(e) Relics 

(f) Miracles 

(g) Legends 

(h) Transcendentalism 

(i) Templars 

0) Holy Grail 

(k) Santa Claus 

86. FANATICISM (Bigotry) 
176* (a) Moor 

(b) Dervishes 

(c) Wild Sects 

(d) Holy War 

(e) Crusaders 

(f) Asceticism 

(g) Inquisition 
(h) Persecution 
(i) Sanctuary 

(j) Excommunication 

(k) Zealot 

(1) Unbeliever 

(m) Martyr 

(n) Reformer 

(o) Puritan 

(p) Ranter 

87. DECEPTION (Delusion) 
177* (a) Disillusionment 

(b) Myth 

(c) Schism 

(d) Apostate 

(e) Heretic 

(f) Pharisee 

(g) Sanctimonious 
(h) Spiritualists 
(i) Trance 

(j) Medicine Man 

(k) Sorcerer 

0) Healer 



IOO 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG — II 



(m) Amulets 


(f) Redemption 


(n) Cults 


(g) Resurrection 




(h) Transmigration 


88. DAMNATION (Powers of 


(i) Eternity 


Evil) 


(j) Future State 


178* (a) Satan 


(k) Immortality 


(b) Sin 


G) Spirit 


(c) Anti-Christ 


(m) Apotheosis 


(d) Temptation 


(n) Sainthood 


(e) Hypocrite 


(0) Translation 


(f) Blasphemy 


(p) Angels 


(g) Sacrilege 


(q) Paradise 


(h) Desecration 


(r) Elysian Fields 


(i) Mockery 


(s) Valhalla 


(j) Witch 


(t) Happy Hunting 


(k) Demons 


Ground 


(1) Exorcism 


(u) Olympus 


(m) Human Sacrifice 


(v) Heaven 


(n) Atheist 




(0) Heathen 


90. REALIZATION (God) 


(p) Idolatry 


180* (a) Divinity 


(q) Purgatory 


(b) Mohammed 


(r) Hell 


(c) Christ 




(d) Jove 


89. DESTINATION (Goal) 


(e) Brahma 


179* (a) Grace 


(f) Buddha 


(b) Perfection 


(g) Allah 


(c) Blessedness 


(h) Trinity 


(d) Savior 


(i) GOD 


(e) Salvation 





101 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



D. — HUMOR. — The Vicissitudes of the 
Ridiculous and the Sublime 

IX. The Emotions of Man. 

Man Impassioned by the Domination 
of the Ludicrous, the Stimulation of 
Diversion, Participation in Pleasure 
and the Stress of Pathos. 



■91. FARCE {Broad Comedy) 

.181* (a) Farce 

(b) Burlesque 

(c) Travesty 

(d) Comedy 

(e) Buffoonery 

(f) Tomfoolery 

(g) Pranks 

(h) Practical Jokes 

382* (i) Mistaken Identity 

(j) Superstition 

(k) Misunderstanding 

(1) Absent- Mindedness 

(m) Wrong House 

(n) Nationality 

(o) Dialect 

(p) Hen- Pecked 

(q) Stupidity 

(r) Mixed Babies 

183* (s) College- 

(t) Skit 

(u) Hoax 

(v) Accident 

(w) Fraud 

(x) Intoxication 



(y) Situation 
(z) Courtship 

(A) Contrast 

(B) Fashions 

(C) Family Jars 

184* (D) Clown 

(E) Character 

(F) Darkey 

(G) Old Maid 
(H) Hired Girl 
(I) Suffragette 
(J) Monstrosity 
(K) Butt 

(L) Miscellaneous 

92. AMUSEMENT {Entertain- 
ment) 
185* (a) Pastime 

(b) Recreation 

(c) Frolic 

(d) Antics 

(e) Lark 

(f) Madcap 

(g) Games 
(h) Sport 
(i) Holiday 

102 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG — H 



G) 


Camping 


(k) 


Picnic 


(1) 


Feast 


(m) Festival 


(n) 


Carnival 


(o) 


The Dance 


(P) 


Regatta 


l86*(q) 


Humorist 


(r) 


Wit 


(s) 


Epigram 


(t) 


Pun 


(u) 


Drollery 


(v) 


The Play 


(w) Comedy 


(x) 


Caricature 


(y) 


Pantomime 


(z) 


Cartoons 


(A) Puppet Show 


(B) Jester 


(C) Cap and Bells 


(D) Mountebank 


(E) Circus 


(F) 


Clown 


(G) Toys 


(H) Miscellaneous 


93. PLEASURE {Joy) 


187* (a) Fancy 


(b) 


Whims 


(c) 


Sociability 


(d) 


Geniality 


(e) 


Optimism 


09 


Honeymoon 


(g) 


Beatitude 


(h) 


Palmy Days 


~(i) 


Jubilee 


0) 


Voluptuous 


(k) 


Laughter 



(1) Merriment 

(m) Song 

(n) Fun 

188* (o) Thankfulness 

(p) Gratification 

(q) Contentment 

(r) Relaxation 

(s) Cheerfulness 

(t) Luxury 

(u) Fruition 

(v) Rapture 

(w) Enchantment 

(x) Love 

(y) Happiness 

(z) Miscellaneous 

94. PATHOS (Tragic Emotion) 

189* (a) Failure 

(b) Disappointment 

(c) Too Late 

(d) Sacrifice 

(e) Endurance 

(f) Hopelessness 

(g) Poverty 

(h) Melancholia 

(i) Doomed 

(j) Tragedy 

190* (k) Sorrow 

(1) Suffering 

(m) Emotion 

(n) Tears 

(o) Anxiety 

(p) Pining 

(q) Loneliness 

(r) Harrowing 

(s) Crushed 



103 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



191* (t) Contrast 

(u) Masquerade 

(v) Character 

(w) Care 

(x) Shock 

(y) Ordeal 

(z) Desolation 



(A) Broken Heart 

(B) Regret 

(C) Remorse 

(D) Sympathy 

(E) Pity 

(F) Miscellaneous 



E.— NOT-MAN 

X. The Personification of Man, 

The Humanizing of All Creation, Crea- 
tures and Mythology and the Appropri- 
ation of their Phenomena as Dramatic 
Material. 

95. NATURE {The Elements) 



192* (a) 


Mountains 


(b) 


Valleys 


(c) 


Plains 


(d) 


Oasis 


(e) 


Streams 


(0 


Forests 


(g) 


Equator 


(h) 


Islands 


(i) 


Seasons 


0) 


Springtime 


(k) 


Cultivation 


0) 


Irrigation 


(m) Conservation 


(n) 


Harvest 


(0) 


Mines 


(P) 


Night 


(q) 


Caves 


(r) 


Desert 


(s) 


Waste Places 



(t) 


Polar Regions 


(u) 


Glacier 


193* (v) 


Fire 


(w) Heat 


(x) 


Volcano 


(y) 


Earthquake 


(z) 


Lightning 


(A) 


Meteor 


(B) Cold 


(C) 


Ice 


(D) Crevasse 


(E) Snow 


(F) 


Storm 


(G) Wind 


(H) Cyclone 


(I) 


Typhoon 


(J) 


Flood 


(K) Falls 


(L) Bog 



104 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG — II 



(M) Quicksand 
(N) Landslide 

(0) Miscellaneous 

96. THE SEA (Phenomena) 
194* (a) Mariner 

(b) Tides 

(c) Cruise 

(d) Compass 

(e) Log 

(f) Wireless 

(g) Pilot 
(h) Haven 

(i) Light-Ship 
(j) Lighthouse 
(k) Beacon 

(1) Fisherman 
(m) Lifesaving 

195* (n) Stowaway- 
Co) Submarine 
(p) Iceberg 
(q) Reefs 
(r) Wreck 
(s) Raft 
(t) Adrift 
(u) Derelict 

(v) Flotsam and Jetsam 

(w) Phantom 

(x) Marooned 

(y) Rescue 

(z) Miscellaneous 

97. THE AIR (The Conquest) 
196* (a) Kite 

(b) Balloon 

(c) Dirigible 

(d) Aeroplane 

(e) Hydroaeroplane 



(f) Lost 

(g) Collision 
(h) Battle 
(i) Rescue 

98. PERSONIFICATION 

(Humanization) 
197* (a) City 

(b) Village 

(c) Crowd 

(d) House 

(e) Furniture 

(f) River 

(g) Tree 
(h) Engine 

(i) Automobile 

99. ANIMALS (Creatures) 

198* (a) Tame- 

(b) Pets 

(c) Horse 

(d) Dog 

(e) Cat 

(f) Birds 

(g) Fable 

(h) Vivisection 

I99*(i) Wild- 

(j) Bull 

(k) Stampede 

(1) Rats 
(m) Bats 

(n) Ants 

(o) Bear 

(p) Wolves 

(q) Lion 

(r) Ape 

(s) Snakes 

(t) Scorpions 

(u) Shark 



105 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



(v) Whale 


Q) Dragon 


(w) Dinosaur 


(k) Griffin 


(x) Miscellaneous 


(1) Unicorn 




(m) Fairyland 


loo. MYTHOLOGY (#0/ M an 


(n) Witches 


or Beast) 


(o) Giants 


200* (a) Allegory 


(p) Ogres 


(b) Half-Gods 


(q) Salamander ^ 


(c) Satyr 


(r) The Star World 


(d) Siren 


(s) Star Maiden 


(e) Faun 


(t) Martians 


(f) Myth 


(u) Legends 


(g) Mermaid 


(v) Valkyries 


(h) Sea Serpent 


(w) Primeval 


(i) Fable 


(x) Prehistoric 



106 



A Scheme that merely gratifies its in- 
ventor is at best but a speculative Theory; 
while a System that satisfies the student 
is at the very least a practical Science. 

CHAPTER X 

A Fiction Example Illustrating the 
Value of the Catalog 

"a weaver of dreams ;" its classification 
and analysis. 

T^ROM the foregoing chapters, it is not to 
A be assumed that the writer of this 
volume has devised a scheme with the magical 
mechanical properties of grinding out well- 
rounded plots from misshapen particles of 
"material." 

All said and done, the Catalog is only a 
re-creator, stimulator and tonic for those 
gifted with fictional imagination. It takes 
for granted that the student is potentially a 
creator of convincing fiction or moving drama, 
eloquent prose or emotional poetry. It not 
only holds the mirror up to the innermost 
depths of the writer's soul, but it also moti- 
107 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

vates it with trains of thought and action that 
carry it on its way with renewed hope and 
spirit. The Universal Plot Catalog is a 
Hand-book of Re-creation. If it gives a 
single original thought that might have been 
lost to the student without its aid, it has not 
been devised in vain. 

"A Weaver of Dreams' ' has been chosen 
as an example because of the fact that it 
had its inception from a newspaper clipping 
contained in the author's collection of plot 
material. The construction of the plot of 
this story will illustrate the purely stimulative 
and suggestive value of the Catalog as op- 
posed to the wooden method of appropriating 
material "just as it stands. " 

(EX A MPLE 21.) GIRL FINDS A S UITOR THR U 
AN EGG. — An Egg Packer Writes Her Name on One 
that Proved to be Good and Receives Her Reward. ... It 
was filed under qi. FARCE (Broad Comedy), (z) Court- 
ship. 

Obviously here is a comedy idea. Also it 
suggests a variation of the trite story of a 
girl finding a lover by means of a message 
conveyed thru the anonymity of her daily 
employment. Thus the clipping would have 
108 



A FICTION EXAMPLE 

been filed for " future reference* ' had it not 
stimulated an idea. The basic idea seems 
never to pall on readers, therefore why not 
devise one that is serious and yet unique in 
development. The clipping was thereupon 
filed and forgotten, overshadowed by the 
more important train of thought that it had 
brought into existence. 

23. AVOCATION {Occupation) was con- 
sulted, pausing at (d) Labor. Immediately 
container 45* was emptied. There were 
many items dealing with interesting phases 
of almost every variety of Labor. THE 
SILK WEAVERS OF FRANCE 
THREATEN TO STRIKE. Weavers— here 
was an attractive occupation. Our heroine 
could weave her name into her product! 
A French weaving girl was appealing too. 
There was the objection, however, to foreign 
stories. Americans must be introduced to 
remove the stigma. Artists studying in Paris 
would fit into the fabric most naturally. 
24. VOCATION {Call), (b) Artist, container 
46* is consulted with refreshing results. All 
the artists are dreamers, if the data be true. 
Our plays and stories likewise emphasize this 
109 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

fact. Why not make our heroine the dreamer 
instead, and vary the monotony? 

Dreamer, 70, is located in the index which 
directs to ROMANCE {Day Dreams). Con- 
tainers 150* and 152* are sparkling with 
gems of ideas. Nothing can stop the flow 
of ideas now. The Catalog has bountifully 
fulfilled its mission. It is replaced on the 
shelf and forgotten in the welter of work. 

{EXAMPLE 22.) The following brief synopsis was 
made as the basis for the future Complete Plot: A WE A V- 
ER OF (SILKEN) DREAMS. . . . A fanciful tale 
of a girl in a silk mill — a girl of rare fancies and prone 
to dreams and flights to the stars and an aptitude for sub- 
lime romance — weaves her wishes and dreams into the 
fabric she works upon and then thru some strange power 
her dreams work themselves out upon the wearer of the 
woven garment — who perhaps traces the garment back 
to the weaver by means of some sign-manual — thus she 
meets him of her dreams. 

The story itself shows that many of these 
fancies were never employed, while many 
that are not mentioned were created in the 
building of the plot. 



HO 



A WEAVER OF DREAMS 

By 
HENRY ALBERT PHILLIPS 

(Published in The National Sunday Magazine, 
October 29, 191 1.) 

WE stumble, sometimes, into our graves 
on the street; Curie, the renowned 
inventor of radium, did. Our fates hang on 
a toss of the penny of circumstance. As 
for ours — Gerard's and mine — I went out one 
day and fell, all unknowingly, into the pit of 
Romance. Still, they say Romance is no 
more! 

It was the second year that Gerard and I 
had been together in Paris, living in one of 
those typical ateliers of the Quarter * A large, 
bare room, up four flights of rickety stairs, 
cheek by jowl with an unsightly company of 
chimney pots. We had had a hard winter 
of it with the wolf literally at the door, in 
the form of a snarling, rapacious landlord. 

* Italics are employed thruout the story, not for 
emphasis, but to distinguish the particular matter 
discussed in the notes. 

Ill 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

Strange as it may seem, it was I who earned 
most of the meager funds that kept our 
bodies and souls together and a leaky roof 
to cover them. Poor Gerard fretted and 
fussed over trivial daubs in imitation of mine; 
but the inevitable genius would creep out 
like a jealous mistress and make a botch of 
them. 

{The progressive writer will clip descriptive matter of 
scenes that seem to lend themselves especially to his pur- 
poses. These are filed under their respective heads.) 

He, like so many misguided artists, thought 
that damp, smelly Paris, somewhere within 
sound of Montmartre's hoarse cries and 
rumble, would bring out the best that was 
in him. But I knew better. God's open 
country was the true place for all good and 
beautiful things to fructify in. The seed 
of genius and greatness was not wanting; 
rather the soil and some fortuitous circum- 
stance which was yet to be discovered. I 
was looking for that circumstance. 

With the approach of Spring, a riot of 

desire broke loose in me to get up and leave 

Paris and to carry Gerard, willy nilly, with 

me. 

112 



A WEAVER OF DREAMS 

With this in mind — one afternoon when his 
blue mood had become too infectious — I fled, 
resolving not to return without some plan of 
immediate action. And yet it was so char- 
acteristic of my reckless nature of those days 
to come back to the studio, not with a definite 
plan of procedure, but instead with a little, 
rich-hued tapestry for which I had paid the 
last franc we had in the world! Simply 
because I knew it would delight Gerard's 
rare passion for color, and dissipate his fit of 
melancholy ! 

{A filed excerpt on the effect of color on the emotions of 
certain artistic people, stirs a thought of its possible 
employment in the construction of a plot.) 

"It is beautiful and has raised my spirits 
beyond the need of supper; but what now — 
a pauper's plot in Pere la Chaise?" he ob- 
served, fondling every inch of the tapestry. 

"No; have you forgotten our inevitable 
pot-boilers?" I had three almost finished. 

"Do you believe in fairies?" he exclaimed; 
and when I looked toward him in alarm — for 
jocular remarks were not in his line — I found 
him examining a little strip of silk which had 
been sewn to the edge of the tapestry. 

113 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

He handed it to me, and I read the following: 

Jacques — 

If you believe in Romance, come to Anconville. 
Ghisleine awaits you. 

Give the normal youth Romance or promise 
of adventure, and he will move mountains. 
Gerard proved to be a whole range of them; 
but I moved him to Anconville, in just two 
weeks from the day I bought the little tapestry. 

(Favorite fiction localities — like Paris — might be 
illuminated with maps of their environs torn from maga- 
zines or books.) 

" Don't be so scrupulous," I protested to 
his eternal objections. "To me it's not 
Romance, but adventure. I'm an adventurer 
pure and simple. If she throws her heart 
at my feet it is likely to be trampled on. She 
shall give us entree to her yokel class, which 
I shall convert into pot-boilers, and from 
which you shall draw types and perhaps 
find a suggestion for your great picture." 

"But, if she should think of nothing but 
Romance? You would break her heart!" 

"Don't worry, Bobbs-boy; if love making 
is necessary, she shall have it for the afore- 
114 



A WEAVER OF DREAMS 

said value received. Personally, I haven't 
much pity for a woman who deliberately baits 
a trap for a man, as this one has done. I'm 
simply going to perpetrate a little fraud at 
her invitation — and expense." 

(An excellent detail is to put slips of paper in the proper 
places in the File, bearing notations where superb descrip- 
tions have been read and may be found at length.) 

"It must at least make a pitiable fool of 
the girl," he persisted. His heart was a 
moat of tenderness that could not permit a 
straw of cruelty to float on its surface. 

And as fools rush in, so did I, conscience- 
less, laughing and singing. 

Well, I found her! 

And what am I to say of all the shame and 
horror that pierced my> heart when I entered 
that immaculate room all fragrant with 
fresh-picked roses, and saw there on a snow- 
white pillow the most exquisite head in all 
the world! Inside the aureole of golden 
tresses was a face more delicate than Botti- 
celli's Simonetta, and eyes that dreamed 
beautiful — holy things. 

(Small lithographic reproductions of great art subjects 
that have especial stimulative qualities are valuable.) 

"5 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

So this was the weaving girl — Ghisleine! 
She was the very antithesis of everything my 
pitiless mind had conceived. A fragile young 
creature hovering on the edge of the grave ! 

In a corner stood the loom, on which it had 
been her strange fancy to weave the dream of 
her life and send it out into the world, that it 
might reach the pure heart of some worthy 
man. A romance as pure and holy as a legend 
of the saints. 

{The legends of the saints teem with suggestive matter 
for fictive parallels or occasional incidents that are strong 
dramatic motives in themselves.) 

"Jacques!" Her soft, sweet voice struck 
like fire into my guilty heart. I had gained 
admission by that name. Involuntarily I 
advanced. "Ah, Jacques, you have come!" 

"I am not Jacques!" I cried in anger that 
anyone should think that I was worthy. 

" Not Jacques? " she said softly, in bewilder- 
ment. Then it was that I began truly to 
realize what a cruel thing I had done, and 
what difficulty I should have in setting matters 
straight again. 

"No, " I said. But no alternative came to 
my mind; helpless pity paralyzed my tongue. 
116 



A WEAVER OF DREAMS 

"And yet how can that be? Madame 
Giraflam said Jacques. And in this, decep- 
tion were impossible. I have dreamed of 
him too long — and you are he!" She shook 
her head and smiled with a confidence not 
to be refuted. 

I had gone out to hunt a fawn with a cud- 
gel, and now was caught in a trap of steel. 

"I am an impostor!" I cried in agonized 
perplexity, and then a way to let me out of 
her life occurred to me. "I came, yes; but 
why? To make use of you, to make a fool 
of you — you." 

"Ah, yoti would try to deceive me, Jacques! 
That is not possible." All that I said had 
not made the slightest impression. 

" Listen, girl, you do not understand" — 
I almost groaned. "It was not I who first 
found your message." 

"But what matters that since you are 
here?" 

What was I to say? 

"Tomorrow he who first received your mes- 
sage — Monsieur Robert — he will visit you." 

"Leave me if you think it well; send 
another if you choose. He is not my Jacques, 
117 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

that I know. But I shall be glad to see him 
and will try to like him. " 

"If you would like it, he will paint your 
portrait. " It was all I could think to say 
at the time. 

"How lovely! And you will always stand 
near? My expression shall be pleasant then. " 

"No, no, no!" I cried, with a sudden over- 
whelming sense of my unfitness to remain 
and to listen to more of her hallucinations. 
"I am going to leave Anconville!" 

(In medical reports, and magazine articles by doctors 
are to be found interesting mention of the phenomena of 
hallucinations. These contain many plot germs.) 

At this she seized my hand, and the next 
instant her cool lips had pressed it ! 

I could endure the torture no longer; 
drawing my hand roughly away I rushed from 
the house. 

I hurried back to the Inn. Dear old 
Gerard stood at the door to meet me. 

"Jaimie, what has happened?" he cried 
anxiously. 

I told him. 

"This is a sad business, boy," he said 
solemnly. 

118 



A WEAVER OF DREAMS 

"Don't misunderstand me, she isn't crazy. 
Here are the hallucinations of the born 
dreamer, who has worn the barriers to the 
grave so thin that she sees thru them Beyond. 
She hasn't a year to live, poor child, 111 
swear to it. That idea of Jacques has become 
part of her life, and she seized on me like a 
last straw. Just what it is she thinks of me, 
God knows. Knowing my own insincerity, 
I can't go back again and keep up the tragedy. 
You go, Bobbs; you're more fit. Amuse her; 
paint her portrait, the idea seemed to please 
her. I must stay away. I'd only succeed 
in making her last hours miserable." 

"I'll go. There's nothing in all the wide 
world I would'nt do for you, you know that. 
But I don't like it," he protested. 

After ten days of it, one would have thought 
that Gerard and I had deliberately exchanged 
natures. He had become happy and buoyant, 
and I morose. How that weird little experience 
with Ghisleine had wrought such a change in 
me was beyond my comprehension. JBy nature, 
I was neither sentimental nor thin skinned. 

I was five miles from Anconville, moping 
along the river bank one afternoon six weeks 
119 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

later, when the revelation dawned on me. I 
had loved Ghisleine from the moment of 
meeting her! 

The cruelty and selfishness of my conduct 
brought me to the verge of tears. My place 
was there by her side — filling her room with 
roses, gladdening those precious hours with 
smiles, cheering her with every breath. 

I think I ran all the way back to the Inn. 

"Bobbs, " I cried, out of breath when I 
found him; "Bobbs, I'm the biggest fool in 
the world." 

" IVe come to the same conclusion, Jaimie." 

"Why — what do you mean?" I asked, in 
my surprise postponing my confession. 

" Simply, that the girl you said was dying 
is not dying at all — now." 

" Ghisleine?" I asked in amazement, as tho 
there must be some mistake. 

"Ghisleine," he assured me. "Why, she 
has improved by leaps and bounds ever since 
that fortunate hour I went to see her. Brace 
up now, isn't that splendid!" 

(Here is an interesting case of therapeutics that might 
have been suggested or based upon a clipping from an 
article discussing the healing value of Suggestion.) 

120 



A WEAVER OF DREAMS 

" Thank God!" I murmured. "It seems 
too good to be true! And — and does she 
ever ask for me, Bobbs?" 

"Yes, often; and when I tell her you are 
here, she just smiles and says: 'Oh, he will 
come; Jacques will come!' If I were you, 
Fd go round and see her. I'll wager you'll 
scarcely recognize her." 

"Oh, I see," I said; but my enthusiasm 
had lost its fire. "And have you attempted 
to paint her portrait?" 

"A portrait — and something greater, Jaimie. 
I've found myself in this picture, boy. The 
little silk tapestry suggested the motif: A 
frail, exquisite girl sitting at a loom, her eyes 
half turned upward as her delicate hands 
weave the figures of her dream into a gor- 
geous-hued fabric before her!" He paused, 
breathless, his eyes alight with tenderness. 

"A weaver of dreams!" I murmured. 

"Excellent! We shall call it that." 

"But can she really sit for you — the long 
hours?" It seemed incredible to me. 

"Only once have I had her sit at the loom 
— for a rough sketch. Now I paint her 
sitting all propped up in a wonderful, shaded 
121 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

bower in the garden. You see, the soul of 
the picture will lie in that wonderful expres- 
sion that never leaves her face — that of a 
dreamer who waits with serene confidence for 
her hour of awakening !" 

"For her hour of awakening !" I echoed 
with a sudden access of rapture. The time 
had come to tell him. 

"And what message do you suppose will 
awaken Ghisleine?" he asked; taking the 
words, as it were, out of my mouth. 

"Love, " I said simply; and before he 
could speak I added: "And do you know who 
— what man — has that message ?" 

"I can guess," he returned, smiling. 

Now was I all ready to overwhelm him with 
the story of my joy, when his manner sud- 
denly changed to one of trembling solemnity 
and, before I could speak, he was telling me: 

"Why, haven't you noticed it in me, 
Jaimie-boy? It's changed my nature, awak- 
ened my power for big things, and made me 
the happiest of men! Jaimie, I love her!" 

The piercing spasm of emotion that shot 
thru me brought me sharply to my feet, 
which fortunately thrust my face into the 
122 



A WEAVER OF DREAMS 

shadow that the waning sun was casting 
over the tiny room. 

"Well, Jaimie — have you nothing to say?" 

"Congratulations!" I muttered, and he 
seized my listless hand. 

"Why, your hand is like ice, " he remarked 
solicitously; but in the next breath he was 
singing his anthem again: "Jaimie, Jaimie, I 
at last know what happiness is. And I owe 
it all — all — to you. You promised you'd 
bring it to me — and you have." 

"I should be happy," I insisted. 

"And you are, of course. I know you too 
well, Jaimie." 

"Yes," I lied bravely, trying to recall the 
sweet face that I could never hope to see again. 

" I know she loves me, " Gerard was saying, 
his voice sweeping painfully across the dark- 
ness of my future thru which my thoughts 
were groping. "Why, she began to improve 
the very moment I went to her! And now — 
tonight at eight — we shall be the happiest 
pair in Anconville. " 

These last words gave my tired, aching 
brain an idea. I had nearly an hour before 
eight. When Gerard returned from his tryst, 
123 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

I should be gone from Anconville — and them 
— forever. 

"And our bridal flowers shall be roses !" 
he exclaimed suddenly, echoing my latest 
thought, and all unconscious of the jagged 
wound he made. For this word " roses' ' 
must ever be the saddest in all the human 
language to me. It was the last I ever heard 
from the lips of him, my dearest friend. 

Thus I left him, seated dreaming of his 
first-known happiness and shrouded in the 
soft twilight shadows. I passed out un- 
noticed. A sudden cowardice had sprung 
up in my heart in which I shrank away from 
that brutal word, " good-bye. " 

Renunciation was the only way. I loved 
them both too much. 

It was early candle-light when I arrived 
before Ghisleine's home. Quickly I slipped 
to the small garden beyond the house. 

As I entered the little bower, my heart beat 
painfully at the thought that I must rest 
content with leaving a few kissed flowers — 
unguessed and unappreciated — to deck the 
altar upon which I was being sacrificed! As 
124 



A WEAVER OF DREAMS 

I placed them on the rustic table I could 
not forebear saying softly, "Ghisleine!" 

"Yes," answered a voice, and at the same 
instant — to my mingled dismay and joy — 
Ghisleine stepped into the bower beside 
me! 

"I am always watching and waiting, 
Jacques; and from the window I saw you 
come. Scarcely believing, I came out to see. 
And, oh, how thoughtful of you to bring me 
the flowers I most love." She stooped and 
pressed her face \*ep into the blossoms. 

All the while [ stood, thinking of nothing 
but things I dared not utter. 

"You see, Jacques, how I have changed? 
I put my every breath and thought into a 
desire for health and strength — and like my 
knight, they too have come. Look, Jacques !" 

She stepped from the bower and stood out 
bewitchingly against the fading light of the 
western sky, the fairest vision I ever saw. 

"You are beautiful — wonderful!" I sighed. 

"I am glad," she said simply; "Monsieur 
Robert tells me that many times a day. " 

Monsieur Robert! In the rapture of her 
presence I had forgotten Gerard, the sinister 

125 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

reason for my being there. And now? 
What was I to do- — to say? 

"Ghisleine, I did not expect to meet you 
when I came here tonight. " I must say 
something to those dear hungering eyes. 

"No?" she asked, in what seemed hurt sur- 
prise. " Yet you bring me flowers, Jacques?" 

I bit my lip with vexation, and then came 
out with it: "Yes, they were to have been 
my message of farewell. M 

"Farewell?" she murmured in bewilder- 
ment, and then: "I don't think I under- 
stand, Jacques, my mind has become so 
tired." 

"I am leaving Anconville tonight, Ghisleine 
— forever." 

"Jacques!" It was a tiny, birdlike cry, 
more from deep hurt than alarm. Already 
two small hands fluttered on my sleeve. I 
saw that I must end it now all at once. 

" Good-bye, Ghisleine. " 

I began slowly to gather enough super- 
human power to move away. I made one 
more effort to break thru — possibly to crush — 
her maddening simplicity. 

"Ghisleine, I must go away. If I stay, I 
126 



A WEAVER OF DREAMS 

shall spoil your happiness — and Robert's 
— and ruin the lives of all of us!" 

11 Jacques, if you go away I shall die!" 

"Ghisleine! Ghisleine!" I cried in anguish, 
looking into her upturned, pleading eyes. 
There was something in them that arrested 
my breath, something to which my strength 
of purpose must have been blinded till now. 
Even then, with the specter of Robert's 
hopeless love staring me in the face, it was 
never my intention to take her in my arms 
and smother her glad cry on my breast. 

"Ah, Jacques!" she sighed softly, as I 
drew her close and kissed her again and again, 
heedless of the passing time. 

Then there came a moment when I fancied 
that a shadow fell across the entrance of the 
bower and with it a sigh, freighted with a 
pain, that must have come from other lips 
than ours. It took me a moment to shake 
off the glamor of it all. 

11 Someone was there, " she said shyly. 

With a sinking heart I pulled out my watch, 
the face of which I could just discern. It was 
five minutes past eight! 

Robert Gerard had come with a singing 
127 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 

heart at eight, to find the woman — in whom 
lay all his new-found happiness — in the arms 
of his best friend ! 

"Poor Bobbs!" I muttered; "Poor old 
Bobbs!" Something choked further utter- 
ance. True, I had given him happiness, and 
then had stolen it from him. Yet, I knew 
that he understood all, and would do just as 
I had intended to do. 

"Monsieur Robert will be here soon — at 
eight, " she was saying happily. "I thought 
it was he then. " 

"Ghisleine, Robert will not come tonight — 
nor tomorrow." 

"Not coming?" she pouted, keenly dis- 
appointed. "And I had so wanted to tell 
him — this. For weeks I have wanted to tell 
him what was gladdening and saddening my 
heart. And now you say that you expect 
him, and now that he is gone! Ah, Jacques, 
I fear that of all the things that have hap- 
pened I was able to understand but one — 
that you would come to me!" 



128 



Valuable Plot Material mislaid be- 
comes an obstacle — instead of an alii- 
ance — in plot building. 

CHAPTER XI 

Index of Plot Subjects 

alphabetized with cross references. 



Abdication - 43 
Abide - 26 

Absent- Mindedness - 91 
Absolute - 74 
Absolution - 82 
Abuse - 58 
Accident -61, 75, 91 
Accusation - 53 
Achievement - III - 27 
Acquittal - 54 
Actor - 24 
Adolescence - 5 
Adoption - 15 
Adoration - 84 
Adrift - 96 
Advantage - 25 
Adventure - 21 , 70 
Adventurer -21 
Adventuress - 21 
Advertisement - 28 



Aerial - 41 
Aeroplane - 97 
Affection- 12 
Affianced - 12 
Affinity - 12 
Affliction - 44 
After Death - 62 
Age -1, 14, 60, 70, 73 
Agitator - 24, 35 
Aid - 40, 59 
Air- 97 
Alarms - 38 
Alienation- 18 
Alienist - 73 
Allah - 90 
Allegory -71, 100 
Alleviation - 59 
Alliance - 34 
Alms - 47, 83 
Altruism- 11 



129 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Alumni - 66 
Amazon - 39 
Ambition -III -29 
Ambush - 41 
Amity -11 
Amor Patriae - 38 
Amulet - 87 
Amusement - 92 
Anarchy - 37 
Anesthetic - 59 
Ancestor- Worship - 14 
Ancestry - 16 
Ancient - 3 
Anecdote - 28 
Angel - 89 
Anglican - 78 
Animals - 99 
Animation - 4 
Anniversary - 46 
Annulment - 13 
Antagonists - IV 
Anthem - 38 
Anti-Christ - 88 
Antics - 92 
Antiquarian - 46 
Ants - 99 
Anxiety - 94 
Ape - 99 
Aphasia - 73 
Apostate - 87 
Apotheosis - 89 



Application - VII 
Appropriation - X 
Arbitration - 45 
Arcadia - 70 
Argument - 68 
Aristocracy - 31 
Aristocrat - 33 
Armageddon - 42 
Arms - 37 
Army - 22, 41 
Arrest - 54 
Art - 32, 45 
Artist - 24 
Artistic - 27 
Asceticism - 86 
Ashes - 62 
Aspiration - B - 29 
Assassin - 52 
Assassination - 37 
Astrology - 65 
Astronomy - 67 
Asylum - 73 
Atavism - 1 
At Bay - 41 
Atheist - 88 
Atonement - 81 
Attack - 41 
Auction- 17 
Auld Lang Syne - 1 1 
Authentic - 74 
Author - 69 



I30 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Automobile - 98 
Auto-Suggestion -71 
Avenger - 42 
Avocation - 23 
Ax-55 
Aztec - 1 

Baby - 15, 91 
Bachelor - 5 
Backbone - 49 
Back Home- 17 
Backslider - 81 
Back to the Farm - 20 
Bail - 54 
Balloon - 97 
Band - 34 
Bandit - 52 
Bankruptcy - 22 
Banshee - 64 
Battle -41, 61, 97 
Barbaric - 9 
Battle Cry - 41 
Bats - 99 
Beacon - 96 
Bear - 99 
Beast -99, 100 
Beatitudes - 76, 93 
Beau - 30 f 

Beauty - 6, 13, 57 
Beggar - 23 
Beggary -47 j 



Believe (Make) - 70 
Belles - 30 
Belles-Lettres - 69 
Bench (The) - 54 
Benefaction -11 
Betrayal -18, 53 
Bible (The) - 76, 80 
Bigotry - 86 
Bill of Health - 57 
Biography - 4 
Birds - 99 
Birth - 2 
Birth Day - 2 
Birth Mark - 2 
Bishop - 79 
Bitterness - 43 
Black - 9 
Black Art - 65 
Black Hand - 52 
Blackmail - 52 
Black Sheep - 16 
Blasphemy - 88 
Blessedness - 89 
Blind Faith - 82 
Blindness - 60 
Blight -58 

" Blood Will Tell" -49 
Bloom - 57 
Blunder - 13, 22, 41 
Body (Home) - 17 
Bog -95 



131 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Bohemian - 10 
Bombs - 37 
Bona Fide - 74, 82 
Bonds (The) - 30 
Book- Worm - 69 
Books - 66, 69 
Boycott - 35 
Brahma - 90 
Brain- Storm - 73 
Branded - 56 
Bread Line - 22 
Bread- Winner - 5 
Breath - 4 
Breeding - 10 
Bribe - 48 
Bribery - 54 
Broad Comedy - 91 
Broken Heart - 22, 61, 
Brotherhood - 34, 83 
Brothers — 16 
Brute -5, 51 
Bubble - 28 
Buddha - 90 
Buddhist - 77 
Buffoonery - 91 
Bunco Steerer - 52 
Bull - 99 
Burglar - 52 
Buried Treasure- 47 
Burial - 62 
Burlesque - 91 



Burning Ghat - 62 
Business - 23, 25 
Butt - 91 
By-Gones - 70 

Cabal - 34 
Cad - 30 
Cadaver - 62 
Calamity - 44 
Call - 24, 79 
Call to Arms - 37 
Campaign - 40 
Camping - 92 
Canaille - 34 
Cannibals- 21 
Cap and Bells - 92 
Captive - 43 
94 Capture - 53 
Cardinal - 79 
Care - 94 
Career - 29 
Caricature - 92 
Carnival - 92 
Cartoons - 92 
Caste - 30 

Castles in Spain - 70 
Catacombs - 62 
Catholic - 78 
Cat - 99 

Cause and Effect - 63 
Cavalier - 70 

132 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Caves - 95 
Cave-Man - I 
Celibacy - 79 
Cemetery - 62 
Certainty - 74 
Challenge - 41 
Chair - 55 
Champion - 27 
Chance - 75 
Chaperon - 10 
Character - V - 49, 73, 91, 

94 
Charge - 41 
Charity- 11, 83 
Charlatanism - 65 
Charnel House - 62 
Chastisement - 55 
Cheerfulness - 93 
Chemistry - 67 
Chief - 33 
Child Labor -15 
Childless- 13 
Child Life- 15 
Children- 15, 16 
Children's Court - 54 
Chivalry - 10, 70 
Christ - 80, 90 
Christian - 77 
Christian Science - 78 
Christmas - 83 
Chronology - 46 



Church - 32, 78, 84 
Circus - 92 
Citizen - 7 
City - 48, 98 
Civility - 10 
Civilized - 9 
Clan - 34 
Clandestine - 12 
Cleanliness - 57 
Climber - 30 
Clique - 34 
Clod -7 

Cloth (The) - 79 
Clothes - 29, 50 - 
Clown -91, 92 
Club - 34 
Clue - 53 
Code - 19 
Co-Ed - 66 
Coffin -62 
Coincidence - 26 

Cold -95 
College - 66, 91 
Collision - 97 
Colonist — 21 
Combat - 36, 51 
Combatant - 39 
Comedy -91, 92 
Commandments - 76 
Commerce — 32 
Committee - 34 



133 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Communication - 19 
Compass - 96 
Compassion - 49 
Competition - 25 
Comprehension - 80 
Comrades -11 
Conceit - 28 
Concord - 45 
Condition - 7 
Confederate - 52 
Confession - 53, 82 
Conflict - 41 
Confucianism - 77 
Congeniality -11 
Conqueror - 42 
Conquest - 42, 97 
Conscience - 53, 56, 81 
Conscript - 39 
Consecration - 79 
Consequence - 75 
Conservation - 95 
Contagion - 60 
Contamination - 58 
Contemporaneous - 32 
Contentment - 8, 93 
Contrast -91, 94 
Convalescence - 59 
Convention — 10 
Conversion - 82 
Convict - 55 
Conviction - 54, 68, 82 



Copy - 69 

Co- Respondent - 18 
Corporation - 25 
Corpse - 62 
Correction - 55 
Cost (The) - 27 
Counterfeiter - 52 
Countersign - 39 
Courage - 39 
Court - 54 
Courtship - 12, 91 
Covetousness - 50 
Coward - 39 
Crank - 73 
Creation - A - I, X 
Creator - 76 
Creatures - X - 99 
Credit - 27 
Credulity - 64, 68 
Creed - 77 
Cremation - 62 
Crevasse - 95 
Crew - 34 
Crime - 22, 52, 58 
Cripple- 15, 60 
Crisis - 26 
Critical - 26 
Crook - 23 
Cross - 40, 80 
Cross Examination, 54 
Crowd - 98 



134 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Cruelty - 13, 44, 61 
Cruise - 96 
Crusade - 24 
Crusaders - 86 
Crushed - 94 
Cry (Battle) - 41 
Crystal Gazing - 65 
Cui Bono - 63 
Cultivation - 95 
Cults - 65, 87 
Cure - 79 
Curiosity - 66 
Curse - 71 
Cursed - 64 
Customs- 10, 16 
Cyclone - 95 

Damnation - 88 
Dance - 40, 92 
Dark Ages - 70 
Darkey - 91 
Darwinian Theory - 1 
Date - 3 
Daughter - 15 
Day- 2, 26, 66, 84, 92, 93 
Day (Problems of the) - 

63 
Day Dreams - 70 
Deacon - 79 
Death -44, VI -61, 62 
Death Bed - 61 



Death-House - 61 
Death Sign - 54 
Death- Watch - 62 
Debate - 68 
Debt - 22, 47 
Deceit - 50 

Deception- 13, 65, 87 
Decline - 58 
Decoy - 53 
Deduction - 53, 74 
Deeds - 49 
Defeat - 43 
Defectives- 15, 73 
Defence - 40, 54 
Deference - 10 
Defiance - 38 
Definite - 74 
Degenerate - 49, 51 
Degrading - 27 
Delineation - 4 
Delirium - 73 
Delusion - 87 
Demagog - 33 
Democracy - 33 
Demons - 68 
Derangement - 73 
Derelict - 22, 96 
Dervishes - 86 
Description - 69 
Desecration - 88 
Desert - 95 



135 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Desertion- 18 

Desire -I, II, III, IV, 

VI, VII, VIII 
Desolation - 94 
Despair - 73 
Despot - 33 
Destination - 89 
Destiny - C - 75 
Destitution - 62 
Destroyer - 44 
Detection - 53 
Detective - 53 
Deterioration - B 
Devastation - 44 
Devotion - 84 
Dialect - 91 
Diary - 69 
Dictator - 33 
Dictograph - 53 
Dinosaur - 99 
Diploma - 27 
Diplomacy - 45 
Dirigible - 97 
Disappointment - 94 
Disclosure - 74 
Disciple - 82 
Discipline - 55 
Discontent - 35 
Discord - 35 
Discovery - 46, 53, 67 
Discrimination - 25 



Disease - VI - 60 
V, Disgrace - 22 
Disguise - 53 
Disillusionment - 87 
Disorder - 73 
Dispersion - 43 
Disposition - 8 
Dissection - 62 
Dissension - 35 
Dissipation - 58 
District Attorney - 54 
Diversion - IX 
Divining Rod - 65 
Divinity- VIII -90 
Division - 35 
Divorce - 18 
Doctor - 59 
Doctrine - 77 
Dog - 99 
Doge - 33 

Domination - 71, IX 
Dominion - 33 
Do-Nothing - 23 
Doom - 44, 75 
Doomed - 94 
Double Life - 53 
Doubles - 8 
Dragon - 100 
Drama - 69 

Dramatic Material - X 
Dreamer - 70 

136 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Dreams - 64, 70, 72 
Dregs - 30 
Drink -51 
Drollery - 92 
Drunken (Fight) - 36 
Drugs- 51 
Dual Personality - 8 
Duel - 36 
Dungeon - 43, 55 
Duty - 83 
Dwarf - 60 
Dynamite - 37 
Dynamiter - 52 

Early Fathers - 79 
Earner (Wage) - 6 
Earthquake - 95 
Eavesdropper - 50 
Economic - 63 
Editor - 69 
Editorial - 28 
Education - 45, 66 
Effect - 67, 75 
Effect of Suffrage - 17 
Egotism - 8 
Egyptians - I 
Electricity - 67 
Elements - 95 
Elopement - 12 
Elysian Fields - 89 
Emotional History - 69 



Emotions - IX - 94 

Emperor - 33 

Empty Promises - 48 

Enchanted - 64 

Enchantment - 93 

End - 3, 75 

Endowment - 49 

Endurance - 3, 94 

Enemies - 35 

Engine - 98 

Enigma - 63 

Enlightenment - 74 

Entertainment - 92 
Enticement - 48 
Environment - 49 
Envy - 50 
Ephemeral - 4 
Epigram - 92 
Epitaphs - 62 
Epoch - 3 
Equator - 95 
Error(s) - 50, 54, 61 
Escapade- 15 
Escape -21, 43, 55 
Essay - 69 
Estate - 62 
Estrangement - 18 
Eternal - 4 
Eternal Lover - 12 
Eternity - 3, 89 
Ethics - 63 



137 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Eugenics - 14, 57 
Evangelists - 80 
Evasion - 54 
Events - 4 
Eviction- 17 
Evidence -53, 54 
Evil - 88 
Evil Passion -51 
Evil Portents - 64 
Exactitude - 74 
Exaggeration - 70 
Examination - 54 
Exchange - 43 
Exclusion- 18 
Excommunication - 86 
Ex- Convict - 56 
Execution - 44, 55, 61 
Executioner - 23 
Exhumation - 62 
Exile- 1 8, 43 
Existence - I - 4 
Exorcism - 88 
Expectation - 70 
Expedition - 40 
Experience - 4 
Experiment - 67 
Explanations - 20 
Exploit - 2 1 
Exploration -21, 32 
Exposure - 53 
Expression - 66, 69 



Expulsion- 18 
Extermination - 44 
Extinction- 61 

Fable - 99, 100 
Faction - 34 
Failure - 22, 94 
Fairies - 70 
Fairyland - 100 
Faith - 82 
Falls - 95 
False Report - 28 
Fame - 29, 32 
Fame Over Night - 32 
Family -II- 16, 29 
Family Jars- 91 
Famine - 44 
Fanatic - 38 
Fanaticism - 86 
Fancy - 70, 93 ^ 
Farce -91 
Farm - 20 
Fascination - 71 
Fashion - 6, 91 
Fatalism - 75 
Fate - 72, 75 
Father- 12, 14, 60, 79 
Faun- 100 
Favorite- 15 
Fear -71, 73 
Feast - 92 

138 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Felicity - 16 
Felony - 52 
Female - 6 
Feminism - 6 
"Fence" -52 
Festival - 92 
Feud - 16, 36 
Fiction - 69 
Fidelity - 13 
Fight - 36 
Filial - 12 
Finger Print - 53 
Fire- 17, 41, 61, 95 
Fire- Bug - 52 
Fireside- 17 
First Aid - 59 
First-Born - 2 
First Offence - 55 
Fisherman - 96 
Fitness - 10 
Flag -38 
Flesh - VI 
Flirt -6 
Flock - 79 
Flood - 95 

Flotsam and Jetsam • 
Foible - 50 
Foolhardy - 21 
Forebear - 14 
Forests - 95 
Forever - 3 



Forgery - 48 

Forgiveness- 11, 20, 45, 83 
For Life - 55 
Forsaken - 14 
Fortune - 47 
Fortune Telling - 65 
Foul Play - 61 
Foundling - 2 
"Four Hundred" -30 
Frame-Up - 53 
Fraternity - 34 
Fraud - 48, 65, 91 
Fray - 36 
Freak - 73 
Free Love- 12 
Freeman - 7 
Free Will - 63 
Friend in Need- II 
Friendship -11 
Frightened - 61 
Frolic - 92 
Fruition - 93 
Fugitive -18, 43, 53, 55 
Fun - 93 
Funeral - 62 
96 Furniture - 98 
Future -3, 26 
Future State - 89 



Galleys - 55 
Gambler - 51 



139 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Games - 92 

Gang - 36 

Gangster - 52 

Garotte - 55 

Gas - 41 

Gems - 47, 48 

Generosity - 49 

Geniality - 93 

Genius - 68 

Gentleness - 49 

Genuine - 74 

Ghosts - 64 

Ghouls - 44, 62 

Giants - 100 

Gibbet - 55 

Gifts - 13, "]2 

Girl - 6, 91 

Glacier - 95 

Gladiator - 36 

Glitter - 48 

Glory - 32, 48 

Goal - 89 

God- VIII -90, 75, 100 

Godliness - 83 

Gold - 47 

Golden Age - 70 

Good Name - 49 

Gossip - 28, 50 

Gourmand - 50 

Government - 32 

Grace - 89 



Graft - 48 
Grafter - 50 
Grammar - 69 
Grand Parent - 14 
Gratification - 93 
Greed - 50 
Greek (Church) - 78 
Griffin - 100 
Guillotine - 55 
Guilt -53, 71 
Gypsy - 9 

Habit- 10, 51, 58 
Habitation -17 
Hack - 69 
Half-Gods - 100 
Handicap - 25 
Hand-to-Hand Combat - 

36 ^ 
Happiness- II, 93 
Happy Hunting Ground - 

89 
Happy Marriage - 13 
Hard (Character) - 49 
Hard Heart - 50 
Harem - 13 
Harrowing - 94 
Harvest - 75, 95 
Hatred - 5, 50 
Haunted - 64 
Haven - 96 



140 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Hazard -21, 75 

Healer - 87 

Healing - 82 

Health -VI -57 

Hearse - 62 

Heart -II -22, 50, 61, 94 

Heat - 95 

Heathen - 88 

Heaven - 89 

Heir- 15, 47, 62 

Heirlooms- 16, 62 

Heliograph - 19 

Hell - 88 

Hen-Pecked - 91 

Heredity - 60 

Heritage - 2 

Heretic - 87 

Hero -15, 38 

Heroine -21 

Heroism - 39 

Hermit- 10 

Hierarchy -31, 33 

High (Birth) - 2 

Hired Girl - 91 

Hireling — 47 

History - 46, 69 

Hoax -91 

Hold-Up -52 

Holiday - 92 

Hollowness (Society) - 30 

Holy Days - 84 



Holy Grail - 85 
Holy War -86 
Homage - 31 
Home - 17 
Home Body- 17 
Homeless -6, 17 
Homeliness - 6 
Home-Making - 17 
Home Seekers - 17 
Home Town- 17 
Honesty - 27 
Honeymoon - 13, 93 
Honor - 32, 49 
Hoodoo - 64 
Hope - 82 
Hopelessness - 94 
Horde - 34 
Horror - 44 
Horse - 99 
Hospital - 59 
Hostages - 42 
Hostilities - 40 
House -55, 58,61, 62, 91, 

96,98 
Huguenot - 78 
Hulks - 55 
Humanization - 98 
Humanizing — X 
Human Sacrifice - 88 
Humility - 83 
Humor - D 



141 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Humorist - 92 
Hunchback - 60 
Hungry Heart - 12 
Hunter -21, 89 
Husband - 13 
Hydro- Aeroplane - 97 
Hypnotism -71 
Hypocrite - 88 
Hysteria - 73 

Ice - 95 
Iceberg - 96 
Iconoclast - 30 
Idealism - 70 
Identification - 53 
Identity -8, 91 
Idiot - 73 
Idle Rich - 47 
Idolatry - 88 
Ignorance - VII - 66 
Illegitimate - 2 
Illicit (Love) - 12 
Imitation - 10 
Immemorial - 3 
Immigrant - 18 
Immortality - 89 
Impassioned - IX 
Impersonation - 8 
Impotency - 22 
Impurity - 58 
Inanition - 48, 58 



Incense - 84 
Incognito -21 
Incorrigible - 15 
Incredulity - 66 
Incurable - 60 
Indian - 9 
Individuality - I - 8 
Indolence - 22 
Induction - 53 
Industries - 45 
Inefficient - 22 
Inevitable - 75 
Inexorable - 75 
Infallible - 74 
Infatuation - 12 
Infection - 60 
Infelicity- 18 
Infinite - C 
Ingrate - 49 
Injustice - 54 
-In-Laws (Family) - 16 
Innocence - 6, 15, 53 
Innocent - 55 
Inquiry - C - 66 
Inquisition - 86 
In Print - 28 
Insanity - 73 
In Season - 26 
Insomnia - 73 
Inspiration - 69, 80 
Instigation - 35 



142 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Instinct - 14, 66 
Insult - 35 
Insurance - 62 
Intellect - 68 
Intercession - 84 
Inter-Marriage - 13 
International (War) ■ 
Internecine - 40 
Interment - 40 
Interpretation - 77 
Intervention - 40 
Intestate - 62 
In the Rut - 22 
Intoxication - 91 
Intrigue- 16 
Intuition - 68 
Invasion - 40 
Inventor - 67 
Inviolable - 74 
Irrevocable - 18, 75 
Irrigation - 95 
Islands - 95 

Jealousy - 50 
Jester - 92 
Jesuit - 79 
Jetsam - 96 
Jew - 9, 77 
Jewels - 47, 48 
Jilt - 18 
Jokes - 91 



Journalism - 69 
Jove - 90 

Joy - 57, 93 
Jubilee - 93 
Judge - 54 
Jury -54 
40 Justice - 54 
Juvenile - 70 

Keeper - 55 
Kidnapper - 52 
Kin -16 
King - 33 
Kiss - 12 
Kite - 97 
Kleptomania - 51 
Knights - 70 

Knocks but Once (Oppor- 
tunity) - 26 
Knowledge - VII - 67, 74 
Koran - 76 

Labor -15, 23, 35, 63 

Lady Killer - 5 

Land -29, 41, 100 

Land-Poor - 47 

Landslide - 95 

Lark - 92 

Last- Rites of the Church 

-84 
Laughter - 93 
Law -52, 54, 63 

143 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Law Suit - 54 
Lawyer - 54 
Leadership - 29 
League - 34 
Learning - 69 
Legally Dead - 62 
Legends - 46, 85, 100 
Leprosy - 60 
Lese Majeste - 41 
Letters - 12, 19, 32, 69 
Liar - 50 
Liberty - 42 
Library - 69 
License - 35 
life- 4, 15,55 
Life Saving - 96 
Lighthouse - 96 
Lightning - 95 
Light-Ship - 96 
Likeness - 16 
Lion - 99 
Literal - 74 
Literati - 69 
Literature - 69 
Loafer - 49 
Loan Shark - 47 
Loneliness - 14, 15, 94 
Longevity - 4 
Log - 96 
Loot - 43, 52 
Lord and Master - 5 



Lost- 15, 18, 97 
Lost Fortune - 47 
Lot -75 
Lothario- 12 
Lourdes - 82 
Love- 12, 59, 70, 93 
Love Letters - 12 
Lovelorn- 12 
Love Potion - 70 
Lover- 12 
Low (Birth) - 2 
Loyalty - 38, 49 
Luck -26, 27, 47, 64, 75 
Luckstone - 65 
Ludicrous - IX 
Lure - 29 
Lust- 18, 51 
Luxury -7, V-48, 93 
Lying in State - 62 
Lynching - 55 

Madcap - 92 

Magazines - 69 

Magic - 65 

Make-Believe - 70 

Malcontent - 35 

Male - 5 

Man- I -5, II, III, IV, V, 

VI, VII, VIII, IX, X 
Maniac - 73 
Man-Made-Law - 54 



144 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Man of the Hour - 26 
Manuscript - 69 
Mariner - 96 
Mark - 2 
Marooned - 96 
Marriage - 13 
Martians- 100 
Martyr -13, 15, 38, 61 

82, 85, 86 
Masquerade - 6, 94 
Mass - 84 
Massacre - 44 
Masses (The) - 30, 33 
Master - 5 
Masterpiece - 32, 69 
Matchmaker - 19 
Material - 27, X 
Maternity - 14 
Mathematics - 74 
Meanness - 49 
Medal - 27 
Mediation - 45 
Medicine - 59 
Medicine Man - 87 
Melancholia - 73, 94 
Melodrama - 69 
Melting Pot - 9 
Memories -71 
Memory - 19, 73 
Men are like Sheep - 71 
Mercenary - 39 



Mercy - 83 
Merit - 27 
Mermaid - 100 
Merriment - 93 
Mesalliance - 13 
Messiah - 76 
Message - 19 
, Metaphysics - 72 
Meteor - 64, 95 
Microbes - 60 
Middle Ages - 70 
Might - IV 
Militia - 37 
Mind -VII -91 
Mines -41, 95 
Minister - 79 
Miracles -72, 82, 84, 85 
Misanthrope - 50 
Miscegenation - 13 
Mischief- 15 
Miser - 47 
Misfortune - 47 
Mishap - 22 
Missing Link - 1 
Missionaries - 83 
Mistake - 73 
Mistaken Identity -91 
Misunderstanding - 91 
Mixed Babies - 91 
Mixture - 9 
Mob - 37 

145 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Mobilization - 40 
Mockery -88 
Mock Marriage - 13 
Mogul -33 
Mohammed - 80, 90 
Mohammedan - 77 
Molly Coddle - 22 
Monarchy -33 
Money- 13, 47, 48, 51 
Money-Lender - 47 
Monk - 79 
Monopoly - 25 
Monstrosity - 91 
Moodiness - 73 
Moonshine - 12 
Moonshiner - 52 
Moor - 9, 86 
Morality - V 
Morganatic - 13 
Morgue - 62 
Mormon - 78 
Mortality -61 
Mortgage- 17 
Mosque - 78 
Mother- 12, 14 
Motion - 4 
Mourners - 62 
Mountains - 95 
Mountain Climber - 21 
Mountebank - 23, 92 
Mrs. Grundy - 10 



Mummy- 62 
Munificent -47 
Murderer - 52 
Music- 19, 71 
Mutiny - 37 
Mystery -21, 52, 72 
Myths - 46, 64, 87, IOO 
Mythological - 1 
Mythology - X - 100 

Name -8, 13, 16, 49 
National - 10, 40 
Nationality - 91 
Natural (Death) - 61 
Nature -I, 76, 95 
Naval - 41 
Necessity - 75 
Necromancy - 65 
Need -11 
Needle -51 
Ne'er-Do- Well - 22 
Neighbors -11 
Nemesis - 29, 75 
Neutrality - 45 
Nevermore - 3 
News- 19 
Night -32, 95 
Nobility -31 
Noblesse Oblige - 49 
Nomad - 9 
Nonconformist - 78 

I46 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



No Place Like Home - 17 

Nostalgia- 17, 73 

Not-Man - E 

Not Man or Beast - 100 

Notoriety - 28 

Novel - 69 

Now - 26 

Nun - 79 

Nurse -15, 59 

Oasis - 95 
Obedience - 13 
Obituary - 62 
Obsession - 73 
Obsolete -3, 10 
Occult - 72 
Occupation - 23 
Offender - 54, 55 
Officer - 39 
Official - 31 
Ogres - 100 
Old Age - 70 
Old Flame - 12 
Old Maid -91 
Old Offender -54 
Oligarchy - 33 
Olympus - 89 
Omens - 64 
Only Child - 15 
Opening - 26 
Operation - 56, 59 



Opinion - 35, 68 
Opportunist - 26 
Opportunity - 26 
Optimism - 8, 93 
Oracle -65, 76 
Oratory - 25 
Organization (Church) 

78 
Orgy -51 
Ordeal - 94 
Origin - A - 2 
Orphans- 15, 62 
Orthodox - 74, 77 
Outlaw - 52 
Outspoken- 74 
Over-Education - 66 
Over Night (Fame) - 32 

Pacification - 45 
Padrone - 33 
Pain - 60 
Palmistry - 65 
Palmy Days - 93 
Panacea - 59 
Panic -71 
Pantheism - 77 
Pantomime - 92 
Paradise - 89 
Parasite - 30 
Pardon - 56 
Parenthood - 14 



147 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Parental Instinct - 14 
Pariah - 30 
Parish -79, 81 
Parnassus - 32 
Parole - 43, 56 
Participation - IX 
Parting- 18 
Partners -11 
Party - 34 
Parvenu - 47 
Passer- By - 20 
Passion - B, 51 
Passport - 40 
Past - 3, 6, 56 
Pastime - 92 
Pathos - IX - 94 
Patriarch - 14, 79 
Patriotism - 38 
Pauper - 47 
Pawnbroker - 22, 53 
Peace - 45, 83 
Peace-Maker - 15, 45 
Peace Offering - 45 
Peasant - 7 
Pedant - 66 
Pedigree -31, 53 
Peer - 30 
Penance - 83 
Penalty - 60 
Peon - 30 
Perfection - 89 



Peril -21 
Perjury -54 
Persecution - 86 
Persistence - 26 
"Personal "-28 
Personality - 8 
Personification - X - 98 
Perversity - 50 
Pessimism - 8 
Pest House - 58 
Pets - 99 
Phantom - 96 
Pharisee - 87 
Phenomena - X - 96 
Philanthropy -n 
Phonograph - 67 
Phrase - 69 
Physics - 67 
Picnic - 92 
Pigeon - 19 
Pillage - 44 

Pillars (of Society) - 30 
Pillory - 55 
Pilot - 96 
Pining - 94 
Pioneer- 21 
Pirate - 52 
Pitfalls -21 
Pity - 94 
Plagiarism - 69 
Plague - 60 



I48 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Plain Dealing - 74 
Plains - 95 
Platonic - 12 
Plaudits - 28 
Play - 92 

Pleasure - 48, IX - 93 
Plodder - 22 
Plot - 52 
Plunder - 42 
Plutocracy - 33 
Plutocrat - 47 
Poacher - 52 
Poetry - 69, 70 
Poison - 61 
Polar Regions - 95 
Police -53 
Politeness - 10 
Political - 33 
Politics - 23, 25 
Polution - 58 
Polygamy - 13 
Pomp -31 
Pope - 33, 79 
Position -III -30 
Positiveness - 74 
Posse - 34 
Posterity - 16 
Posthumous - 32, 62 
Post Mortem - 62 
Potentate - 33 
Potentiality - 27 



Potter's Field - 62 
Poverty - 7» 22, 47, 94 
Power -IV -33, 69 
Powers of Evil - 88 
Practical Jokes - 91 
Praise - 29, 84 
Pranks - 91 
Prayer - 84 
Preacher - 79 
Precocity- 15 
Predestination - 75 
Prehistoric- 1, 100 
Prejudice -50 
Premonition - 72 
Present - 3 
President - 31 
Press (The) - 28 
Pretender - 37 
Pride - 31 
Priest - 79 
Prime - 5 
Primeval - 1, 1 00 
Prince -31 
Principles - 49 
Print (In) - 28, 53 
Prison - 43, 55 
Prisoner - 54 
Prison Reform - 55 
Problems - 63 
Profanity - 50 
Profession - 23 



149 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Professional - 25 
Profundity - 68 
Progress -26 
Prohibition - 59 
Propaganda - 68, 80 
Propagandist - 24 
Property - 47 
Prophecy - 72 
Prophets - 76, 85 
Propitious - 26 
Proselyte - 82 
Prosperity - 45 
Prostitute -51 
Protectory - 55 
Protestant - 78 
Providence - 76 
Providential - 26 
Psychic - 72 
Psychology - 49, 52, 72 
Publication - 69 
Publicity - 28 
Public Opinion - 35 
Pugilist - 36 
Pun - 92 
Punishment - 55 
Puppet - 8 
Puppet Show - 92 
Purgatory - 88 
Puritan - 86 
Purity - 83 
Pyromaniac - 51 



Quacks - 59 
Quaker - 78 
Qualities - 49 
Quarrels - 35 
Questions - 63 
Quicken (To) - 4 
Quicksand- 21, 95 
" Qui Sauve Peut " - 44 

Rabbi - 79 
Race - 9, 37, 63 
Race Suicide - 9 
Radium - 59, 67 
Raft - 96 
Raid -41, 53 
Rank- 31 
Ransom - 43, 47 
Ranter - 86 
Rape - 44 
Rapture - 93 
Rats - 99 
Reading - 69 
Realism - 74 
Realization - 90 
Reason -VII -68 
Rebellion - 40 
Rebuilding - 45 
Recall - 54 
Recollection - 81 
Record - 46 
Reconstruction - 45 



150 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Re-Creation - A 
Recreation - 45, 59, 92 
Recruit - 39 
Red Cross - 40 
Redemption - 89 
Reefs - 96 
Reform - 55 
Reformation - 42, 56 
Reformatory - 55 
Reformer - 86 
Refuge - 17 
Regatta - 92 
Regeneration - 56, 81 
Regret - 94 
Rehabilitation - 56 
Rejection - 18 
Rejoining - 20 
Rejuvenation - 20 
Relapse - 22, 60 
Relations -I, II, III, IV, 

V, VI, VIII 
Relaxation - 93 
Release - 56 
Relics - 19, 85 
Religion -63, VIII -83 
Religious - 24, 40 
Remarriage - 13 
Remedy - 42, 59 
Reminder- 19 
Reminiscence - 46, 71 
Remorse -20, 56, 81, 94 



Renascence - 66 
Renegade - 39 
Renown - 32 
Renunciation - 79 
Repentance - 56 
Report orial - 28 
Rescue - 21, 42, 96, 97 
Research - 46 
Restraint -54 
Resurrection - 89 
Resuscitation - 61 
Retribution - 43, 56 
Return - 20 
Re-Union - 20 
Revelation - 76, 80 
Revenge - 44, 51 
Reveries - 70 
Revivals - 81 
Revolt - 37 
Revolution - 40 
Reward - 27, 42, 53, 67 
Rhetoric - 69 
Rich - 47 
Ridiculous - D 
Riot -37 
Rising - 37 
Ritual - 84 
Rivalry - 25 
Rivals - 12 
River - 98 
Romance- 12, 70, 85 



151 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Royalty -31 
Ruin - 22 
Ruler -31 

Runaway- 13, 15, 18 
Russian - 9 
Rustler - 52 
Rut - 22 

Sabotage - 35 
Sacraments - 84 
Sacrifice- 11, 14, 16, 

67, 83, 88, 94 
Sacrilege - 88 
Safety First - 59 
Sagacity - 68 
Sainthood - 89 
Saints - 85 
Salamander - 100 
Saloon - 22 
Salvation - 89 
Salvation Army — 22, 
Salubrity- 57 
Sanctimonious — 87 
Sanctuary - 86 
Sanitation - 57 
Santa Claus - 15, 85 
Satan - 88 
Satellite -31 
Satyr - 100 
Savages- 21 
Savior - 89 



Scalps - 44 
Scandal - 28, 50 
Scape-Goat - 22 
Scar - 53 
Schism - 87 
Scholar - 66 
School Days - 66 
Science - 32, 63, 67, 78 
Scientist - 67 
Scorpions - 99 
38, Scout - 39 
Sea -96 

Sea Serpent - 100 
Season(s) - 3, 26, 95 
Secret Marriage - 13 
Secrets (Family) - 16 
Seekers (Home) - 17 
Self -8 
Selfish - 29 
Seminary - 79 
78 Senses -4, 71 

Sentiment- 12, 71 
Sentinel -39 
Separation- 18 
Serf -55 
Sermon - 80 
Servant - 23 
Service - 24 
Sex -51 
Shame - 56 
Shark - 47, 99 

152 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Sharpshooter - 39 
Sharp Tongue - 50 
Shintoism - 77 
Shock - 59, 94 
Shoplifter - 52 
Short Story - 69 
Show - 92 
Shrines - 84 
Side - 34 
Siege - 41 
Signals -19 
Sin- V- 88 
Sincerity - 74 
Sinecure - 23 
Sins of the Father - 60 
Siren - 100 
Sisters -16 
Situation - 91 
Skeleton- 16, 62 
Skirmish - 41 
Skit -91 
Slattern - 6, 58 
Slave -7, 30, 51 
Slave Driver - 33 
Slavery - 44 
Sleep - 72 
Sloven - 58 
Smuggler - 52 
Snakes -99, 100 
Snare - 48 
Snob - 30 
Snow - 95 



Sociability - 93 
Social - 7, 63 
Socialism - 35 
Society - 10, III - 29, 30 
Sociology - IO 
Sophistry - 65 
Solace- 11 
Soldier - 39 
Solitude -71 
Son -15 

Somnambulism - 73 
Song -71, 93 
Sorcerer - 87 
Sorrow - 94 
Soul - VIII 
Soundness - 57 
Souvenirs - 1 1 
Species - 9 

Speculation- 21, 47, 48 
Spendthrift - 47 
Spinster - 6 
Spirit - 89 
Spiritualists - 87 
Spoiled (Child) - 15 
Sport - 25, 92 
Springtime -71, 95 

Spy -39 
Squabbles- 16 
Squaw - 6 
Squealer - 53 
Stampede - 99 
Star Maiden - 100 



153 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Starvation - 48, 58, 61 

Star World - 100 

State - 7, 62, 89 

State's Evidence - 53 

Statesman -31 

Station -31 

Statistics - 46 

Step-Child -15 

Step- Mother - 14 

Stimulation - IX 

Stingy - 47 

Stoic - 60 

Stone Age - 1 

Storm - 73, 95 

Story - 69 

Stowaway — 15, 96 

Stranded - 47 

Stranger - 8 

Strategy - 41 

Streams - 95 

Stress - IX 

Strike - 37 

Strong (Character) - 49 

Struggle -I, II, III, IV, 

V, VI, VII, VIII, 69 
Student - 66 
Stupidity - 68, 91 
Style - 69 
Subconscious - 8 
Subjugation - 43 
Sublime - D 
Submarine - 96 



Subtlety - 8 
Success - 27 
Suffering - 94 
Suffrage- 17, 37 
Suffragette - 6, 91 
Suffragist - 24 
Suggestion - 59, 71 
Suicide - 9, 61 
Sun Worshipper - 77 
Superman - 6 
Supernatural - 72 
Superstition - 64, 91 
Supposition - 70 
Suppressed (Fame) - 32 
Supremacy - IV 
Surrender - 43 
Survival of the Fittest - 

9 
Sweetheart - 12 
Sympathy - 94 
Synagog - 78 

Taint -51 
Talisman - 64 
Talmud - 76 
Tame (Animals) - 99 
Taste- 10 
Taxation - 43 
Teacher - 66 
Tears - 94 
Technicalities - 54 
Telepathy - 19, 72 



154 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Telescope - 19 
Tell-Tale - 28, 50 
Temper - 50 
Temperament - 8 
Templars - 85 
Temple - 78 
Temptation - 48, 81, t 
Tempus Fugit - 3, 26 
Termagant - 6 
Territory - 42 
Test - 67 
Thankfulness - 93 
Theology - 77 
Theory - 1 , 68 
Third Degree - 53 
Thief - 52 
Thirteen - 64 
Thorobred - 49 
Thought - 68 
Thrift - 27, 47 
Throne - 29 
Tides - 96 
Ties - 16 
Time -3, 71 
Time-Honored - 3 
Times - 3 
Time- Worn - 3 
Title - 29 
Tobacco - 50 
Tomb - 62 
Tomfoolery - 91 
Tomorrow - 26 



Tongues (Combat of)- 36, 

50 
Too Late - 26, 94 
Tourney - 36 
Town (Home) - 17 
Toys - 92 
Tracts - 69 
Traditions - 16 
Tragedy - 94 
Tragical - 28 
Tragic Emotion - 94 
Traitor - 38 
Trance - 87 

Transcendentalism - 85 
Translation - 89 
Transmigration - 89 
Trappist - 79 
Travesty - 91 
Treasure - 47 
Treaty - 45 
Tree - 98 
Trenches - 41 

Trial -54 
Tribal - 40 
Tribe - 34 
Tribulation - 21 
Trinity - 90 
Triumph - 42 
Troubadors - 70 
Truce - 45 
Trust - 1 1 
Trusty - 56 

155 



THE UNIVERSAL PLOT CATALOG 



Truth - 74 
Trysts -12 
Twins -15 
Type -49 
Typhoon - 95 
Tyrant - 33 

Ugly Duckling- 15 
Ultimate - 74 
Ultimatum - 40 
Unbeliever - 86 
Uncleanness - 57 
Under Fire - 41 
Undertaker - 62 
Underworld - 52 
Unemployed - 35 
Unfaithfulness- 18 
Unfrock - 79 
Unicorn - 100 
Union - 20, 42 
Unregenerate - 52 
Unrest - 35 
Unsavory (Notoriety) 

28 
Unvarnished - 74 
Unwritten Law - 54 
Uplifting (Success) - 27 
Urchin - 15 
Usurper - 33 
Utopia - 70 

Valhalla -89 
Valkyries - 100 



Valleys - 95 
Vampire - 51 
Vanity - 50 
Vassal - 30 
Vault - 62 
Vendetta - 37 
Venereal - 60 
Vengeance - 55 
Veracity - 74 
Veteran - 39 
Vicarious - 55, 61 
Vicissitudes - A, B, C, D 
Victim - 52 
Victory - 42 
Vigilantes - 55 
Village - 98 
Violation - 58 
Violence - 37, 61 
Virgin Mary - 84 
Virility - 5 
Visions - 76, 85 
Visionary - 73 
Vitality - 4 
Vivisection - 99 
Vixen - 6 
Vocation - 24 
Voices - 73 
Volcano - 95 
Voluptuous - 93 
Voodoo - 65 
Vows - 79 
Vox Populi - 35 

156 



INDEX OF PLOT SUBJECTS 



Wage Earner - 6 
Wake - 62 
Wanderlust- 18, 50 
War - 32, 40 
War Dance - 40 
Warden - 55 
Warning -21 
Warrior - 24 
Wasted Opportunity - 26 
Waste Places - 95 
Water (Death) - 61 
Weakness - 6 
Wealth - 29, 47 
Wedding - 13 
Wedlock - 13 
Whale - 99 
Whims - 93 
White (Race) - 9 
White Feather - 39 
White Plague - 60 
White Slave -51 
White Slaver - 52 
Widowhood- 18 
Widows - 62 
Wife - 13 
Wild Animals - 99 
Wild Oats -51 
Wild Sects - 86 
Wild West -21 
Will - 62, 63 
Will of God - 75 
Will-o'-the-Wisp - 32 



Wind - 95 

Winner - 5 

Wireless - 96 

Wire-Tapper - 39 

Wisdom - 68 

Wit - 68, 92 

Witches - 64, 88, 100 

Witching-Hour - 70 

Within the Law - 54 

Witness - 54 

Wolves - 99 

Woman - II, 6, 38, 48, 79 

Woman- Hater - 5 

Women First - 10 

Word (The) - 76 

Workhouse - 55 

Works - 80, 83 

Worry - 58 

Worship - 12, 77, 84 

Wounds - 44 

Wreck - 96 

Wrong House - 91 

X-Ray-59 

Yellow (Race) - 9 
Yesterday - 26 
Youth - 57, 70 



Zealot - 86 
Zodiac - 72 



157 



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